libGL crashing

[r. may]

Ok, so I've put up with this for a while now, but now I need to fix it. 
When I first installed YDL 2.2 I could use the GL libs.  In fact it was
great, I never had DRI and GL working simultaneously before this, until
something broke.  I really just don't know what, when, or how.  I just
remember one day when the screensaver came on everything froze.  At
first I thought this wan an xscreensaver thing.  I removed the
xscreensaver that came with Ximian gnome and gave the one that came with
YDL a try.  Nope.  Then I decided it was a GL thing since xscreensaver
only crashed when I told it to use GL.  Anything else that uses GL (xmms
plugins, games, anything) will also cause my system to freeze.  I
manually upgraded Mesa and this fixed the freezing but it kills DRI. 
DRI will not work with anything but the Mesa libs that come with with
XFree86.

My question is:  Has anyone else had this problem?  What sugestions do
y'all have? and last but certainly not least: How do I check to see if
anything I try worked without doing the same things that cause a
freeze?  Rebooting after this makes me feel like I've been hit with a
2x4 with a nail stuck through the end.

thanks,

r.May