Programs Not Showing up After Install (w/reset)

Hello all - a lot of great information here. Thanks to everyone who is posting.

Recently got my Verizon XV6800 and started doing some light customizations:
HTC Home (Kaiser) - cool, but clock takes up a lot of real estate
Google Maps - I use it with my bluetooth GPS (Wintec G-Rays2) and love it, now I need a good offline mapping application

After a day or so of usage, IE hangs for 10minutes so I soft reset...then it won't go past the initial white background Verizon boot screen. Removed battery for 15min - same thing.

I did a hard reset, and although the device looked OK, I get the Verizon "phone not authenticated" error when trying to make a call. Tried *228 option 1 - even tried *22899 (supposed to be an alternate programming access number for data devices). Called Verizon and the tech had me dial the #8899 so that I could manually enter the newly generated twenty-something digit authorization key. I must say, I have never heard of a hard reset that took your phone off of your carrier's network.

Anyway - phone is working again, but...

When I install programs, they don't show up in the Programs folder. HTC Home installs and shows up on the Today screen after a reset, but I can't access any of the customizations I was able to use before by going to the Programs folder. The only reason I can use Google Maps is because it shows up in the list of programs available to add to the Start menu - won't show up in Programs folder.

What gives? Do I have to do another hard reset, get on the phone with Verizon to re-authenticate my phone, and spend 45minutes setting up my phone the way I like it again (how many more times will I have to do this)? Or is this some bizarre issue that warrants taking the phone to Verizon to swap for another one?

Thanks,
recneps