I tried digging into the code a bit with gdb with mixed results. The Treo actually would sync up properly sometimes even without the Host fix in place as long as I was running in gdb. Maybe some sort of timing issue?
Anwyays, I never saw it hit a backend->close = 1 line -- at least not in mod_proxy_http.c. I've put this on our live server (running full SSL on the front and backend) and have been able to sync with the Treo ... goign to keep trying. So I'm content for now, but if anyone wants me to keep digging pretty easy for me to test and do gdb stuff so just holler. Ray