Follow up to earlier comments:

Okay, I know I'm a little dense sometimes, but MAYBE I've discovered a problem?

I tried reformatting the mmc to make sure it wasn't a swap issue, still problems. So I reflashed again. THIS time, however, I checked Tools/Control Panel/About and found that I had version 4.2007.26-8, NOT 4.2007.36-2.

So I redownloaded the file from the link on Maemo, made sure that I got the following:

SU-18_2007HACKER_4.2007.36-2_PR_F5_MR0_ARM.bin

Re-flashed and STILL 4.2007.26-8!

Wazzup with that!!??? And yes, it finally crashes HARD, with battery removal the only option to reboot.

I guess it's back to 2006 for now... THANKS ALL!

Carl - frustrated Linux tinkerer