Gnome X on RH9

[karlp ourldsfamily com]

I've had this problem intermittently:

1: X takes a while to start. In XFree86.n.log there are some things about
not being able to use this or that resolution because hsync is out of
range, but I probed my monitor (a Dell 1028) and the returned values match
the tech documents I've seen on the monitor (I look that stuff up for a
monitor when I get it, then write it down on a label and affix it to the
side). I'm not real sure what to look for...

2: Gnome doesn't run except after a reboot. I have to login using KDE,
WindowMaker or TWM to get a session started. So, I can run gnome once,
then have to reboot if I have to run it a second time.

3: (see # 1). When logging out, it takes at least 30 seconds for the login
screen to come back.

I've created an .xsession file and nothing comes to .xssession-errors. I
created .xinitrc and tried various things there, too.

Karl