The problem that I'm having is that IE seems to "pause" anytime I
submit any type of form data (e.g. perform a search, click a button,
etc.)  The application doesn't crash, just becomes unresponsive for
about 30 seconds and then springs back to life.

To troubleshoot I've tried the following (attempting the FORM post
after each one):

1) Run a virus scan
2) Run a spyware scan
3) Disabled the firewall
4) Disabled the realtime virus scan
5) Disabled the realtime spyware scan
6) Seached the entirety of support.microsoft.com for applicable
solutions
7) Followed Method II found at
http://www.theeldergeek.com/repair_reinstall_ie_and_oe_6.htm and
reinstalled IE6 and SP1, testing after the installation of each.

Worth noting is that I'm able to connect to websites via URL and IP but
only encounter the pause when I submit data via HTML Forms.  I also
tried another browser (Firefox) which doesn't seem to exhibit the same
behaviour.

What I'd like to know is: (a) Has anyone else experienced this problem
and (b) Is there any solution that will get IE6 working?

While using Firefox exclusively may be a solution for some my employer
subcontracts some of its 401K and benefits management needs to
developers who chose to make their sites IE-only.

Good luck.

As far as I know Windows 2000 does not have a built-in firewall of any
kind so ports should not be an issue...  Why would auto-update cause a
problem with posting for data from within IE?

Was the malware check thorough enough? I would run CWShredder, Ad-aware,
Spybot.
See: http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
Also note the security tips and other important information on that page.

Additional information at:
The Parasite Fight http://www.aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm
More security tips at http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
Bugs, Glitches & Stuffups: http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/Darnit.htm

You might post a HijackThis log
to one of the forums listed below. You will receive good help at any of
these forums. You might look for a forum that doesn't have too many
unanswered posts. You should also look for the proper forum for HijackThis
logs and a message along the lines of "Important- Read This First."

HijackThis instructions and download:
http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/
http://www.aumha.org/downloads/hijackthis.exe
(Additional information and warnings)
http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.php#hjt

Forums:
http://forum.mvps.org/  Excellent help- low traffic. Visit
http://forum.aumha.org/viewtopic.php?t=4075 before posting the log.

http://castlecops.com/forums.html
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/index.php
http://tomcoyote.com/forums/
http://www.spywareinfo.com/forums/

Hope this helps,
Don
[MS MVP- IE/OE]

After step 7 I also tried deleting just the History and Temporary
Internet Files folders; I didn't think it would do much since I had
reinstalled the entire application but I tried nonetheless.... no
luck....

I also tried CWShredder (nothing found), Ad-Aware (only cookies), and
Spybot (cookies)...  so far nothing has worked.

Short of a 'HijackThis' log, what else can I do?  I fail to understand
how application-level corruption in IE can be (1) present or even (2)
not remedied by reinstalling the application.

Any ideas Don?  Anyone else have some suggestions I can try?