Well I have an update for you guys. First off, thanks for the suggestions and condolences. I left the phone open all night with the battery out and everything seems to be almost normal with the OS. The D pad only works when I push up (not down or sideways) so scrolling is a bust but I rarely use my stylus so that's a problem. The red light has gone off and everything seems to work otherwise but continual problems are intermittent. Whatever damage I did, it was structural and not just the battery so that leads me to believe I'm going to see more problems down the road.
I should have clarified that the phone was used. My boss upgraded to a Touch and gave me his old one so by new it was only new to me. He paid for it so I really haven't last anything yet.*
* I'm really anal about things not working and used items so I'm going to the Sprint store tonight for a replacement on my dime. I was going to get one anyways until yesterday and I'd feel better having a new one rather than a hand me down. He didn't give me any of the accessories so now I can start fresh and wait for a kitchen. I never realized how much customization I had done to my Apache until I booted this rascal up. At least now I'll have two backups (one Mogul, one Apache) if something ELSE goes wrong.
I ordered this (rubber case)
http://www.seidioonline.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=797
and this (extended battery)
http://www.seidioonline.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=814
today so hopefully I'll have better luck next time.