Hello bcool:

I'm sure the looping issue is very frustrating.  I would like to add to Ed's suggestion.  In order to enable Safe Mode on an Android device, the phone has to be powered off, so I would suggest removing the battery and reinsert, just do not power the device back on.  Then once the device is totally off, press and hold down the Power button only until the second HTC logo appears, then release.  Then hold all 3 buttons , Volume - Down, Menu and Optical joystick, all at same time while the device powers up until you see the words "Safe Mode" in bottom left corner of the screen.

These steps should work for you.  I've included this link for steps with screen shots.