Not sure how verbose Safari is, you might try looking at the Activity window to see if you get the JavaScript errors in there also.
To change the lookup order (see
http://www.macwrite.com/criticalmass/mac-os-x-hosts-regrouped-pf.php - this is an older article, but still works for Tiger):
[1] From the Terminal, check the current configuration
lookupd -configuration
[2] If the 'Host Configuration' does not have DNS following FF and NI, then change the configuration file:
cd /etc
sudo mkdir lookupd (make a new /etc/lookupd/ if it doesn't already exist))
cd lookupd
ls (check for files, just in case the directory already existed)
cp hosts hosts.original (save the original, if needed)
sudo echo LookupOrder Cache NI FF DNS DS > hosts (make a new host configuration lookup order)
[3] Restart for any changes to take effect