Jon,
thanks for the reply and great support!!!!
although the theory sounds good.. it never happens while the system is in use. you would think that if the external emmiters are causing the issue, then when activated they would cause the hang. but in my situation it only seems to happen after an extended period of no activity. ie. when i wake up in the morning. nothing works. but if i shut the system off (tv, stereo - leave pc on) and come back say 3 or 4 hours later.. still works. only seems to happen after 6-8 + hours of no activity.. almost like it goes to sleep.. and then just never wakes up. i turned on my red led, to see if the device stil has power and see's a signal. and it does.. press the remote and the light blinks on the usb-uirt. but for some reason it then doesnt send that info to the computer.
i'll continue to trouble shoot and provide you with as much info as i can.