FINALLY Figured it out.
On this particular system, I had configured the "Common Open File Dialog" to have custom items displayed in the Places Bar.
(Here's one link to tell you how to do it)
I had entered a network drive on a server that I shut down a few weeks ago (but I used the URL and not the drive letter, for some reason).
Once I shut down that server, any dialog box with the Places Bar in it tool a LONG time to load, as it searched for that URL.
I replaced the URL with an entry to my [profile]\Links folder, and put a shortcut to the new network location in there.
The interesting thing is that I thought LV was the problem since it was the only program affected- that's not true. The thing that threw me was that some programs use that dialog and some don't. IE does not, firefox does, notepad does not, office does not, etc.
Anyway, I appreciate all your help. I had forgotten I had made that customization, and now I know better than to use network URLs in my links!
