problems restarting

i have a Flyer 3G on HC rooted using globatron's method

i can install ROMs and use all functions on the device without a problem - until i attempt to restart and i get stuck on the bootscreen...i hear the startup sound and i can hear email notifications for new emails, and the volume keys make the sounds when i up or down volume, but i can't get past the bootscreen

reflashing the same ROM over itself doesn't work, and neither does restoring a backup...the only way to get back in is to wipe and flash a ROM from scratch - only to face the same problem the next time i wan to restart

i am currently on Cool3D, but this also happened with Desensified and with Virtuous

i always fully wipe before each new ROM by formatting /system /data /cache in mounts and storage

any ideas what i can do (other than never restart, which is how i have tackled it for the last 2 months)

OH FFS! it's always the way, you research, you read, you can't figure it out, then as soon as you make a new post you find the problem

in testing whether a restore worked so i can put it in my original question, i saw i had a backup from last night and i thought "uuuhhh, how did i make that if i couldn't restart?" - so obviously at some point yesterday i DID restart

so if restarting works on a fresh install works, it has to be app related...it was VTL Launcher...siiigghhhh...the VTL thread says it doesn't work on HC but someone in the Flyer screenshot thread told me they were using it and i wanted it too