ok i've done it, used ubuntu to run the meta doctor you specified.
it HELPED A LOT that you specified which one (sprint-franken-verizon-pre2, not sprint franken unlocked pre2, verizon franken Pre2 or verizon pre2, which don't have application descriptions)
i had to go across the street to 'borrow' some wifi so i could reinstall preware and freetether with WOSQI (since as far as i can tell, you can't just download them to the phone) and now i have internet access at home again.
now i could try to restore what i saved with save/restore, but i can't tell if i even need to.
and i don't know where this /var/lib/software area is, to try to update the PRL. which again, don't know if it's even needed.
i'll try this for a while and see how it works, but it's already acting weird; showing that wifi is OFF while also showing the button 'turn wifi off' in the desktop drop-down menu. is it off or not, little phone? what, you can't tell?? argh.
it's THIS frustrating stuff that will drive me to just get a 'dumb phone', for my dumb self. as much as i love webOS, it's becoming a tinkerer's phone requiring higher tech know-how than i have.
if this phone doesn't start acting normally, my next step will be to rebuild the Pre- with the spare comm board i have, activate it, then transplant into the Frank hoping a diff comm board will help. ugh that's a lot of work on a hunch. webOS really does test my patience sometimes.