hi BillPe, if it helps to give you perspective, think of this "compare field" functionality from a numerical standpoint. (I understand that you're more trying to use it on an ID field -- but I've never been able to get any form of "not equals" to work so this is where my brain rests.)
What works for me is:
* equals
* less than
* greater than
With that in mind, consider cheating the system by using less than and greater than. Your filter should nut out to:
OR:1:hours=0
OR:1:hours_Mod=ne
OR:1:lastUpdatedByID=FIELD:ownerID
OR:1:lastUpdatedByID_Mod=gt
hours=0
hours_Mod=ne
lastUpdatedByID=FIELD:ownerID
lastUpdatedByID_Mod=lt
In other words, "give me everything except equals." Hope this helps.