Try updating to darkslide 4.1, I flashed it cause I was bored and have had no issues with handcent. Still like apex better but this might work for you.
I actually don't like a lot of the visual changes made from 4.0 to 4.1. I tried 4.1 for about 10 minutes before switching back.
I don't send picture messages very often (only a few a year at most) so I can live with it. I'm just trying to help diagnose the root cause and solution to the problem.
