Update: Well, after a couple of frustrating days with VS I was in a panic to get this video done by today. Finding no solution I opted to try a different program. Cyberlink also offers a TBYB version of the PowerDirector program so I downloaded it. Within minutes I was off and editing. The interface is much like what we've gotten used to with VS so the learning curve was small. I was able to drop in all the same clips (68 of them) that had choked VS. One difference is trimming clips. Instead of trimming them in the preview window you just double'click on the clip in the timeline and an edit window pops up. Slightly less convenient, but this edit window is awesome. Not only does it have a preview window, but separate thumbnail views of the start and stop frames so you can see your in and out points after you trim the clip. Nice. Once I was done editing it was time to place chapters. As in VS you can choose to automatically place chapter points at the start of each clip. Unlike VS, though, when you place chapters this way they stay anchored to the clip. If you go back to edit and insert another clip or element to your video the chapter points after that edit will move with their respective clips. With VS you have to go back and move all those chapter markers again, which is a pain when you have a lot of chapter points. While in this step you can name your chapters and they will transfer when you create your menus. Moving on to menu creation I was again impressed. This is what VS should take cues from. The process is so much more intuitive and easy to work with. Since I had already named all my chapters while editing I didn't have to deal with renaming each and every label in the menu. That done, I moved on to creating my disc. Here's where some of the program's shortcomings come to light. VS offers myriad choices for how you output your video and they can make a huge differnce to the final quality and your ability to fit it on a disc. As yet, I have found little in the way of adjusting final output beyond choosing various static templates like Web, DVD, VCD, etc. There is no way to change the bit-rate or sampling quality or to choose your own encoder. There is a Magic Fit option that will scale your project to fit the media, but who knows how that is achieved and at what cost to video quality.
Thankfully, the burn process went smoothly and it only took 50 minutes to burn a 1hr12min DVD. I can't say it's any better quality than what VS might have done had it worked, but I have 7 copies ready to deliver to my client this afternoon, and that's what was important. I hope I can sort out my problems with VS, but I may have to buy a copy of PowerDirector just to have on hand for situations like this. It's a little more basic than VS, but it gets the job done and it didn't crash once. I've always said that Ulead needs to focus less on adding features and more on making the program work and be stable. I really wish they'd start listening.
Anyway, I put together a 1hr plus video in VS10+ today. Nothing fancy, no audio, no transitions, all MPEG2 clips (68 or so) with a few titles. When I tried to use the Burn Disc module I get an error "Fail to delay load FileUtil.dll" and then the dreaded error report box pops up and the program crashes and exits. When the video was 1/2 completed I used this option just to see how the chapter markers were loading in the manu editor and it worked fine. Short of starting all over again what could the problem be? I'm running Windows XP Media Center rollup 2, all updates including the latest SP1 for VS10+. All the clips are taken from a DVD originally burned using VS8 and they play fine in preview. TIA 
It's obvious the company cares more about seducing new purchasers/upgraders and not a whit about taking care of long time users who have suffered from one painfull upgrade to another with no repair of the kinds of usability bugs that persist version after version.
So I took the chance and installed 11+ on it knowing it would install to its own folder and probably not mess up my 10+ install. Well, after some frustratingly mysterious crashes with 11+ I am now burning my project to a DVD. Fingers crossed!!! I'll let you know if it turns out. I can't deal with the instability, though, so I may be looking at a different program for the future. I have Magix's editor and while it works OK, it is not as easy to use as VS. Neither is Adobe's Video Elements, which I also have. Guess I might have to spend some real money on a better program since I'm actually making money doing videos now. 
