Hi mamenewb100,
About the Midway games. Your math is right, it should be using 800x512. BUT: look at the pic you posted,
399x256@54.82 -> 400x256@54.82 ->
400x256@??? So it doesn't seem to be scaling the resolution for some reason. That's why I need a log to see what's happening, it's probably something silly.
Don't get frustrated. I know the feeling when moving to Linux and getting stuck by simple stuff that is trivial in Windows.
The logs must work, it must be a typo or something. If you can't get a log to a file, just run GM with -v -md 4 params and take a pic of the screen on exit, make sure to capture the relevant bits (where the switchres patch does its stuff), that should be enough for me.
If your monitor supports 800x600, it should have no problem with 800x512. After all, it's frequencies what matters, not resolutions.
On the other hand, I know nothing about trackballs, sorry.
I'm still far from getting tired of your issues. Keep posting, my answers can delay because I'm away for some days I'll be answering.