Sprint Touch Pro questions

[asgard_thor]

I've been using my Touch Pro for awhile now, with the sprint clean up, and I like it. But there is still lag when in TF3D, as for example when I'm at the home screen and I slide to the "text message screen" Takes anywhere from 10seconds for the message to appear

So, I consider a hard reset and trying this one out
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=470164

1. I'm not sure how to hard reset, and if it removes my contacts, is there a way I can back them up, so I don't have to enter them manually again?

or what would be the best course of action.