try using irqpoll and routeirq in your grub menu.lst see if that helps your sound at all
I added irqpoll and routeirq to the grub menu.lst and this may have done the trick......The audio, through earbuds, sounds good. I am posting from a public place and won't be able to try the internal speakers until later but this is VERY promising..... Shut down and mouse are working normally since I did not add acpi=off back to the grub menu.lst.
Once again, I thank all of you for your patience and willingness to stick with me until we could solve this issue.....The Vector community has always been there to help those of us who are still learning.
David