thanks for the info regarding the spark plug leads.

I went out and test flew it today after wrapping the leads with electrical tape and tygon tubing. I can only assume that fixed the problem because I couldnt' duplicate any of the problems I've been experiencing with the RX going into hold for fractions of seconds.

I flew the same sequence as yesterday, left-right, vertical to include pointing the antenna directly at it and had no difficulty controlling the plane. I even set the throttle to high idle and it never once blipped in flight.

seems to easy of a fix so I won't let my guard down initially and will have spare receivers and crystals at the ready to see if it was just a fluke.

thanks to all who responded

cheers

buck