NEED MAJOR HELP!!!

omfg scratch my last post. For the first time in the history of man I think I was able to actually get something done myself!!! I realized that what I did was completely removed the darn OS like the genius that I am... So, what I did was downloaded the Sprint Version (even tho I have the virgin mobile version) of 2.1 that u linked me to and I figured out that I needed to use swupdgrade and was able to actually get it working then just check to see if it would install froyo if I had it check for system updates and voila... IT DID! I am not completely helpless after all. I'll update you if everything goes well... Its installing right now and I am going to root it afterwards and then make an attempt to see if I am able to get live wallpapers.

We'll see how it goes haha!


***Update/Edit*** I was wondering... Is there currently a link anyone is able to provide to the 2.1 or 2.2 firmware/os for the virgin mobile intercept? Mine is a virgin mobile intercept and it was froyo now but its the sprint version. Also... When I go to try and update the firmware it gives me an error and I dont know if this has anything to do with it but I cant update the firmware it gives me an error. I know that the Froyo update just came out for Virgin Mobile phone so I would even take the 2.1 so it has the stock applications and bootup screen and power down screen etc... So that it is more like a Virgin Mobile phone and then I can check for updates and just update to froyo. But m biggest concern as of right now is the fact that I cannot update the firmware or anything because it is giving me an error when I try. Other than that this thing is working like a dream....

Okay, this thread has some great information, so first of all thanks to ratsttam for the info on custom recovery. I may pursue that later, but I'm trying to salvage what I've got first.

First of all, I'm having the same problem that the OP was having to begin with: I rooted the phone (not with the One Click, because it didn't work for me, but with joeykrim's instructions here). It worked fine for probably two months, until just a couple weeks ago. Exact same scenario: phone ran like it was full of molasses, constant self-rebooting and freezing, needing a battery pull 5 or 6 times a day. I tried the same things he did: wiping cache, wiping SD, full system reset.

I thought the phone had just gone defective so I contacted VM to exchange it. But before that I knew I had to unroot it. So I followed joeykrim's unroot directions (again, don't try the one-click) and succeeded. But just like that, the problem was gone. So this is obviously something inherent in the exploit being used. From reading about it, my limited understanding is that it actually runs at boot every time to reset itself. I think it's spawning too many processes and getting out of control, so eventually the phone can't handle it and reboots to protect itself. But since it runs at startup, it just happens over and over again.

Since I started this, I've tried to root it a couple times again, each time with the same effect. If the root successfully takes hold, the phone slows to a crawl and/or freezes and reboots.

I tried SuperOneClick (the rooting app), but it doesn't seem to do a permanent root. Afterwards I can get root through ADB but not the console emulator on the phone, and a reboot loses it.

So my question is... Is there an alternative root method that either doesn't use joeykrim's method (rageagainsttthecage) or doesn't restart itself at boot every time?

Update: I used the spaztecho Intercept Root APK from SDX Developers and it did the same thing when I used the permanent root option. But if I do the Temporary Root option, everything seems to work fine. No slowness, no crashing, and root is still active.