We use map shapes and background maps with wafer maps of manufacturing data. They are really valuable outside the geographic context. JMP assumes if you added a background map your data wants to be geodesic coordinates, typically resetting the axes so the data disappears entirely. This happens in X-Y but it's worse in graph builder because after you've reset it to linear it will keep going back to geodesic when you make unrelated changes to the plot - for example dragging a column over to color the data.
If the assumption is valuable maybe it could pop up once and say "hey, is "X" geodesic? I can set the axis column property to that for you!". Seems like column property is a good way to do it.
But I find that even if set that property to Linear it will switch to Geodesic when I add a background map, it doesn't seem to honor the column property on this...