Well, I finally finished my chores. I ran a 5 loop memory test, no problems, and reset my Airport Extreme (after taking a screenshot of all settings) and while I can't say that anything is improved since I successfully ran the 10.6.8 combo updater, I at least know what (if anything) is not wrong. AFAIK, the combo updater cured all ills. Since then, things are better that ever, perhaps even (more better) than when the machine was new.
As far as I can tell, the only change was that I learned a few things thanks to your gracious gift of time and expertise. Always, 'tis greatly appreciated.
