$_POST form deletes TextArea 4k (data), but (data) is retained in $_REQUEST

[eluser]Mavarik[/eluser]
I have a form that I submits multiple large textarea fields,via controller. ie.
<textarea 1 = 2092bytes of html wysiwyg data
<textarea 2 = 4296bytes
<textarea 3 = 3096bytes

I run $this->form_validation->run() on all fields as required validation. I get error on textarea 2 not filled in.

on a var_debug($_POST) the results are
textarea 1 (2092)bytes "data shows here"
textarea 2 (0)bytes ""
textarea 3 (3096)bytes "data shows here" etc.

on a var_debug($_REQUEST) the results are
textarea 1 (2092)bytes "data shows here"
textarea 2 (4296)bytes "data shows here"
textarea 3 (3096)bytes "data shows here" etc.

Is this CI issue or browser or other? I'm thinking CI but am not sure.