I'll run some more experiments and let you guys know, specifically seeing if there's a difference between inserting the player before and after starting the car vs. leaving it seated.

It's a second hand unit, but was someone's spare, so I have no idea how much aging the IDE header could have taken. This is the only weirdness I've seen, and the the unit comes into the office every day and sits in a mlord dock until I leave. This is the only weirdness I've noticed, so if it were a loose connection type of thing, I'd expect to have other stuff happen, but who knows?

--Nathan