thanks for moving the thread. i actually figured out what was the issue and it was only partially related to root access. amazon offered an app called seal (which is actually a great security app) a few week ago and i've been using it on my 3d and my transformer. i also gave it root access on both devices, which is an option with the app. apparently a lot of ppl using that app had the same issue. i deleted the app and now gmail is working again.
if anyone else with that app is having the same issues, it's seal that's probably causing it.