Jim,
Sorry about the forum problem. I work as a Sr. IT Analyst and would be glad to work on the problem gratis. Looks like it may require working with your web host to sort out.
One of the common causes of that error is a mismatch between the MySQL database version and the PHP MySQL libraries, which could happen if the web host upgrades the database without upgrading all the language libraries (PHP, Perl, Python, etc.).
You can confirm that is the problem if you have access to phpMyAdmin through your web host control panel. If you login to phpMyAdmin and see something like this message at the bottom, that is the problem:
Your PHP MySQL library version 4.1.15 differs from your MySQL server version 5.0.45. This may cause unpredictable behavior.
Maybe it's just a damaged database file, but if there is a problem with PHP, and your host does upgrade it, then the version of phpBB might need to be upgraded as well (latest is 3.0.12).
Anyway, PM or email me if I can help in any way.
Keith
