iPhone 5 keeps freezing and having issues with messages coming in .. HELP before I crack up .

whats the issue. please be more specific 🙂

Basic troubleshooting from the User's Guide is reset, restart, restore (first from backup then as new. Try each of these in order until the issue is resolved.

I have the exact same problem. Never had it before recent software upgrades. I can be in the middle of a text conversation and it will literally take like 3 minutes for a simple 3 sentence text to be sent... while I receiving text from the other end of the conversation... it drives me nuts. It's not the internet connection... this does not happen while texting from my iPhone 4 on the same wi-fi connection. And didn't happen before the upgrade. Also all apps are now very slow to open. So, do I reset via itunes?

You really should try basic troubleshooting from the User's Guide.