I turned persistant connections off and we'll see what happens.
Also, to the "uber-slow" thing -- MOST of the time when things are going well things runs pretty quick. Ever since the upgrade though I've been hitting slow spots, and then end up with the "two many connections" error.
My database has grown to a gig in size. I'd really value a way to archive old posts, but hey, that's another topic
Don't know if my connections issue and my blank-weirdness have anything to do with one another, but any input would be appreciated.