D3 transform transition "null parsing transform attribute" - d3.js

Question

The basic problem is that I have a drag event on a path that transitions the path a certain distance in the x axis.
When another event happens I want to return the path back to its original position before the drag event.
I tried to do this with the below code:
svg.select('#' + uniqueid + '-flare')
.select('path')
.transition().duration(1000)
.ease('linear')
.attr('transform', 'translate(0,0)');
This is giving me the warning "null parsing transform attribute" and the SVG container in the HTML shows transform="".
Using this following code works perfectly well, but is choppy. I want the smooth animation provided by the transition.
svg.select('#' + uniqueid + '-flare')
.select('path')
.attr('transform', 'translate(0,0)');
Any ideas? Thanks!
Update
Lars asked to see some more code. So.... (It is very abridged)
var dragtype, dragsum;
var wordDrag = d3.behavior.drag()
.origin(Object)
.on('drag', function (d) {
if(dragType != d.word) {
dragType = d.word;
dragSum = 0;
}
//update current position
dragSum = dragSum + parseInt(d3.event.dx);
var xMovement = parseInt(this.getAttribute('x')) + parseInt(d3.event.dx);
d3.select(this)
.attr('class', 'dragged-points')
.attr('x', xMovement);
if(uniqueId == d.word) {
svg.select('#' + uniqueId + '-flare')
.select('path')
.attr('transform', 'translate(' + dragSum + ',0)');
}
}
});
word.selectAll('text')
.data(data)
.enter().append('text')
.attr('class', 'points')
.attr('id', ... )
.attr('x', ...)
.attr('y', ...)
.call(wordDrag);
tick = setInterval(function(){
animate();
}, 1000);
function animate() {
word.transition()
.duration(1000)
.ease('linear')
.attr('x', ...)
.attr('y', ...);
svg.select('#' + uniqueId + '-flare')
.select('path')
.transition().duration(1000)
.ease('linear')
.attr('transform', 'translate(0,0)');
}