After bootup--blank screen
 

After I login to unbuntu all I get is a mouse(that moves) and a tanish-orange solid background. Nothing else opens that even resembles GNOME

Have you ever logged in successfully? Or is this happening from the beginning? At grub loading, you might be able to select the recovery mode and fix it. It sounds like the Ubuntu backgrond is starting, but you have no menu or bar.

it's a new install...no i've never had it work and your assumptions are right i think

<control><alt><f1> will drop you to a console. Login as a regular user and dmesg | tail. Maybe that will tell you whats up. You could also check your xconfig and ore restart /etc/init.d/gdm.