I have a 50/50 feeling that it's something with my Frankenstein install, or possibly a bug -- not sure which...
Most of the time, in the past, when I installed a new kernel (sometimes several times a week) the nVidia module will automatically build. So, I install the kernel and reboot. Simple pimple. Took less time than typing this post.
Lately, the nVidia module doesn't build (no errors reported), during the kernel installation. When I reboot, I'm met with a black screen. So, I need to shell out, manually install the nVidia drivers, then startx. After that, everything is fine, until I install another kernel.
Doesn't really matter. It's an extra step -- that's all.
I was just curious if other ppl were experiencing this behavior, too...