and having to use task manager to close VSD after it locks up........ it only does it after a "save"

Sounds like you have a script or something interfering with VSD's rendering. What have you done to your site just before the problem started?

Seems to do it all the time now when I delete a page (s)

If I log on and do nothing but select a page, delete the page, save then publish..... I then get the progress bar as uploading, then when it gets to "trying to establish a connection" it locks up with the error message.

It is when I delete any page identical to this (except with a different gif inserted)
http://www.steveonline.info/10111.html