I'm gonna be straight up here, but really, the best boards for the Intel platform as far as stability and performance are Asus and Abit boards. it has been that way for many years. Those two companies deliver a real OC'ers board that other companies just cannot match. It's always been a toss up which board is the best, and really neither one is best. They regularly switch places for the performance crown, and they are BOTH the best. Right now, Asus is on thyeir game, and they are getting the highest clocks, but Abit is not far behind. It also looks like Asus will be first out with the 975 boards so they will have the most experience with them. I would highly recommend sticking with one of those companies, and stick with a Intel chipset on whatever board you choose. If i were buying new, i would opt for the 975.
These are my personal preferences. I opt to go for the high end stuff, and it's generally more expensive. If price is a concern you have to make that decision.
When i got involved in OC'ing seriously, and flight simulators, there was no room for second best. The stuff I do with a computer requires me to buy once, and tweak, and I like to keep them for awhile. I don't buy and buy and buy, so I have to make one computer count for awhile. I've used Intel system for a long time and have dabbled with a couple AMD systems, but had some of the same issues as you, and came back to Intel. I plan to upgrade to another Intel when the Conroe is available, and have been keeping up with "the good stuff".
A board is one of the most important things. You want to get a good one. You can buy the very best stuff available, but if you put it on a bad OC'ing board, it won't give you what it's capable of. I've had many Asus and Abit boards, and i've never had an issue with any of them. They deliver.
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