Hmm...... perhaps there is some corruption in the virtual machine?
I suppose it's possible. Although everything else seems fine. It's almost like there is something that resets things to a default but all I have to do is run the configuration and just keep hitting next. I don't have to change a thing. I suppose I could do a reinstall at some point. I have yet to try the WMii DE. I think it may be a bit too hands on for me.
edit: as it turns out, all I have to do is right click on the network applet, disconnect eth0 then re-connect.
re-edit: thinking about it, every version of PCLOS I've ever had takes a few seconds to connect but this one shows as connected as soon as the desktop draws.