Have you completely uninstalled all graphics drivers and then re-installed the current one?

Just for grins, I started FS yesterday. It came on and did the usual flickering. I had to logoff to get out of it but as I did, for one very brief moment, the image stabilized. I fired it up again, put the cursor on Settings and clicked. I got a stable screen and checked the resolution. NONE was selected. I am accustomed to having 800 x 600 pop up when I screw things up. Didn't happen this time; that's what had me flummoxed. I set the res for the max this little 22-inch monitor will hold and clicked. Success! FS is back! What a joy to see it again. Now, I need to figger out how to add the Merlin to the stable. I've tried in the past, but it's always failed to accept the Independence texture. Member boikat had some awesome repaints he did for it. Can't find those. Well, it's just good to have FS back. We'll drive into those other bridge abutments at a later date...