Another thought here - Perhaps your computer has a software or device MIDI port unrelated to the PocketPOD installed that is causing the software to have issues because it won't open: Do you have any other MIDI devices connected to your PC or software drivers like Hubi's loopback installed?

If so then the odds are the last time you had these problems the solution explained for you was to manually configure the PocketPOD editor not to open all MIDI ports on launch and to set up the MIDI In and MIDI Out ports manually. If this was the case and you decided to upgrade to the newer software version those custom settings would have been wiped out allowing the other devices on your system to interfere with the editor's autosensing routine again. The final piece of the problem would be you forgetting what the solution was the first time and simply assuming the software was buggy: Re-installing the older version would not restore your old custom settings and the problem would persist.

So, why not try reinstalling the newest version and follow the steps in the preferences guide to configure the program not to open all your computer's MIDI ports on launch (the MIDI->MIDI In Ports... dialog and MIDI->MIDI Out Ports... dialog are where the check boxes can be found for these options). Manually select the PocketPOD ports from these dialogs and restart the program.

Let us know how it goes.

-Tony