I was at 131,000 points and 50 lives when I lost the ball on the top of the screen. I knew I should have bounced it one more time to let those bricks fall 1 more level.

I left it running for about 1/2 hour and came back - and POOF - the ball had come down and it was waiting on me to start my next life. Not sure if this is common, but leaving it worked for me.

I am now at 180,000 points and 58 lives. There is a survival guide on-line (google it) that gives great pointers on how to best play each level. After you do all 34 levels twice, it slows down and is pretty easy to cruise through and get tons of points. I am on my 9th time through all the levels.