So... Last night I was trying to figure out how to get the apk over to the device so I could be sure it wouldn't install on the sdcard... no success. So I just ran the install from the sdcard. It worked! (Even though Chainfire over at xda said NOT SD card)... Maybe it just had to be launched from sd but still installed to the device... I'm not sure.
Anyway, I installed TiBu and ES File Explorer. Backed up the user apps and started deleting stuff. Got rid of most bloatware (Vcast apps, scrabble, thinkfree office, kindle, tetris, etc.) Hoping the buggy behavior I'm seeing now isn't going to last. (or worse turn into a brick)
Thanks all for the assistance!