Ok all caught up:
Sprint OEM shipped image flashed
Completely installed with stock customizations
Dialer worked just fine. No delays.
Hard reset.
Reloaded/customized back into stock image.
Again, no problems.
Flahsed Energy 9/5/09 standard rom
Booted, customized, rebooted.
Hard Reset
Booted, customized itself, rebooted.
Now, when I make a call, the soft hangup button appears to work so long as I hang up AFTER the call has connected. If i hang up while it still says "dialing", it hangs, and the call continues. The screen drops out of the dialer, back to the today screen.
Pressing the talk/phone button brings nothing but panic. These are very similar symptoms to the original post.
How do I know what the default dialer is on the standard Rom, and how to I change it? I'm embarassed taht I don't know these things. I am watching the sushimi tutorial videos on youtub though - that has to count for something