Rob, you might be thinking of the thread where we were discussing mango reaction to cold. I thought that lychee had a pretty strict chill requirement.
I think lychees can be encouraged towards bloom if given proper nutrition, but I think there is still a need for chill.
My mauritius has had 2 crops in 10 years. My sweetheart had a small crop last year and is going for a near full bloom this year, and it's only about 5 or 6 years old. I do control the nutrition on the sweetheart, where the mauritius gets the home owner association's fertilization routine.
Don of Going Bananas said that lychee production in the redlands area declined significantly from past decades do the warmup.