For me PDANet and a 700w worked. The only difference was that I configured (and paired) my phone itself rather than the carrier. The username I used was ##########@vzw3g.com, where ########## is your 10 digit phone number... password is vzw. This is the same as can be found on the phone itself with enough digging.
I've used PDANet long before I tried to pair it with my Nokia, and I've had occasional lockups as mentioned. Reseting the phone fixes it. I expect it is a problem with the phone or PDANet and there may not be any way around it.