Text Selection Hangs Since iOS 5.1.1 Update

I have an iPhone 4 32GB on the AT&T network.

Updated it to iOS 5.1.1 about two weeks ago.

Since the update multiple applications (Apple and 3rd Party) have been showing this behavior:

1) Click in a text entry or text area form field,

2) Begin typing text,

3) Touch anywhere in the field to bring up the monicle selection caret,

4) The monical selection caret is shown and I can move the monical/caret around the screen,

5) Un-touch the screen,

6) ERROR - The monicle and the selection caret don't respond to user touch input and the app/OS hang for anywhere from 5 to 15 seconds,

7) The standard "Select | Select All | ..." context pop-up window is shown, after that the app/system are responsive again.

Regarding the ERROR at step 6) above: Clicking Home does nothing, turning on/off with top-button does nothing, force shutdown responds only after the monicle/caret selector un-hangs.

Once this has happened in a given text field/text area, it doesn't happen again on a subsequent text selection touch event... UNLESS I sleep the device, wake the device on the same app/field and try to select again... then it hangs again.

To note, while it's hanging the loading-spinner is displayed in the title bar next to the AT&T 3G/Wifi Antenna icons, suggesting something in the background is doing a network search that's locking then entire foreground process.

I've attempted to:

1) hard reset the device,

2) restore from a backup of 5.1 (doesn't have the aforementioned problem) and reinstall the 5.1.1 update (has the problem)

3) swear at it and curse Steve Job's mock-turtleneck for allowing such a peice of **** bug to exist (even if it's not his fault ex post homine)

Any further help would be great... I may end up downgrading to 5.1 just to not have to deal with this perpetual headache.

Thanks,

Etienne