Here is the final word: my qmail server does an all records request whenever it tries to send for mail... or at least that's what the PIX thinks it is doing. The PIX intrusion detection engine drops the DNS session and kills delivery.
On the PIX: ip audit signature 6053 disable wr mem
On the toaster: qmailctl flush ...... and poof! All the mail delivered almost instantly.
Sorry to clog the thread, but it's nice for folks to see related subjects to help them debug. Thanks for all of your help and direction. This mailing list is one of the more responsive I've seen and I really appreciate it.
