After deleting the component, did you also Purge Unused?
I have seen this error when importing a component that has been saved with the same name as a component inside it. This creates a situation of a component referencing itself. It is an unfortunately frequent error with components posted in the Warehouse.
Thank you. Not sure what happened. I went back to a previous version which contained the same new model, and then the error went away. One of life’s little mysteries, on with the show.