I have a problem with the main screen locking up my computer 2-3 secs after it comes up. Now if I luck out and can click on "Load Game" fast enough, it will work fine. However, the mouse cursor is laged on the mainscreen, so I usually miss it and have to reset my system like 6 or 7 times before I ever make it into the game. Is there a way to either load the game inside a window so when it lockes up I can just Ctrl_Alt_Del and shut it down that way? OR is there a hotkey to load a game (from the main screen, I know F9 does it ingame), so that I can just hit the hotkey and not worry about clicking?

Yeah - I had that problem too... that's a video card driver issue. Download the latest drivers for your video card.