does clearing caches and/or cookies let the phone access internet faster? if so...how do you delete /clear cookies and/or caches?....are those two the same thing?

Browser > Options > Cache Operations > Clear History/Pushed Content/Content Cache/Cookie cache

My guess would be that this would be similar to clearing a cache on a PC/MAC. If the caches get large enough it does slow down internet operations/load times.

First, thanks for the cache clearing tip. I really apprciate it.

I have read here frequently that all you have to do to solve what ails you is turn off the device, remove the battery cover and battery, wait a few and put it back in an power up. This seems to have worked well and has worked on a few other occasions (I am a noob so bear with me here) better than any pda device I have used before including the treo.

I did the clearing of the memory cache as well since I had this same exact question (and was the only real reason I was logged on). If my online connection was more responsive earlier, I could have missed that whole traffic jam at the new Nokia center and gotten home 45 minutes sooner! I think the cache clearing helped but can't be sure since I did the 2 variables at once.

Here I think is the actual issue I am having problems with, though:

I fault entirely Google and Gmail. After the re-boot, my in-limbo gmails are coming through all at once (from 4+ hours ago) and the whole thing loaded up more quickly (google apps and the default browser, that is).

So, I find myself wondering, did I log out of gmail on my work machine or not? Is IMAP a solution or not? (so far, it is sucking)