Updating Caused Significant Problems

I have had Storyline for about two years.  I did an update in October 2014 and since then I have had significant problems with the software.  It acts sporadically and crashes frequently.  I have reloaded it, uninstalled it, re-installed it, repaired it...to now avail.  Here are only a few of the issues:

--When I work with formatting anything with gradient colors, it crashes;

--When I open and close slide scenes, they will involuntarily open the starting scene without that scene being selected;

--When working on projects, I have to save every five minutes, as it sporadically crashes without saving a backup and even when no other programs are open on my computer;

--When I click the tutorials on the opening screen, another entire program opens (such as Photoshop or Dreamweaver).

There are other issues, but I'm wondering why so many problems have arisen since the October update.  Has anyone else experienced such problems?  What can I do to protect myself against future crashes?  I'm getting to the point where I really can't stand using this software anymore because of the unreliability.