The s3 sleep mode on my laptop now appears to work perfectly.
I am using this kernel 2.6.6-1.397 with the patch referenced in this bugzilla entry: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=121760
and unloading the ehci_hcd module, before initiating the sleep.
This on the top of an inaccessible floppy which I mentioned before. Not the end of the world but somewhat unsatisfactory.