Well. Had to shut down to do the re-seat and ensure everything was nice and snug. After logging back in, I played consistently for the next hour or so without incident. I'm skeptical the fix had anything to do with touching the hardware, but since things are working properly now - I'm not apt to complain.

If a moderator would be so kind as to lock this topic. Should the issue return, I will simply start a new thread and reference this one (unless it gets filed away in an unseen corner).

Thanks.