IPod connection disappearing too fast

I have an older Ipod which until today, was synching just fine in my Itunes. HOwever, I did not use it very much. Now, when I connect the Ipod, it very briefly appears in MyComputer, then flashes out and Itunes shows the device button and a message that says Ipod Synching, do not disconnect. Then when complete, after about 2 seconds, the IPod disappears on the device button and the area that told me it was synching, goes back to the Apple symbol. I was able to click the device button and it opened up and showed me some files, but it disappears before I can study it. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the latest version of Itunes, and gone through every troubleshooting suggestion I could find. How do I fix this?