Needed to put a new rom to get at least Android 2.3.4 so I can deploy apps via Android Studio; also to fix annoying issue with Car Home being triggered by faulty wire connection somewhere...
Followed https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2330806
Performed the following steps (do at your own risk):
Wait for a couple hours or more for phone to cool down.
download VPT-Gingerbread-for-LG-Ally-RC1.zip and put on sd card, insert card in phone
download platform-tools-latest-windows.zip
C:\Tools\android\platform-tools-latest-windows\platform-tools>adb version
Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.39
Revision 3db08f2c6889-android
Installed as C:\Tools\android\platform-tools-latest-windows\platform-tools\adb.e
xe
setttings > applications > development > USB debugging enable
C:\Tools\android\platform-tools-latest-windows\platform-tools>adb devices
List of devices attached
A00000218BE8A4 device
C:\Tools\android\platform-tools-latest-windows\platform-tools>adb install Ginger
Break-v1.20.apk
Open Ginger Break, and root device
C:\Tools\android\platform-tools-latest-windows\platform-tools>adb install root-c
hecker-5-0-5-en-android.apk
open root check and verify root access
C:\Tools\android\platform-tools-latest-windows\platform-tools>adb install com.ko
ushikdutta.rommanager-5.5.3.7-5537-minAPI8.apk
Recovery Set up
Clockwork mod recovery
select LG Ally
Flash ClockworkMod Recovery
Reboot into recovery
down volume button and select backup and restore
press OK button on popout keypad
press OK for backup
hit back button (top left button of slide-out keyboard) until you reach first menu
select wipe data
install zip from sd card
choose zip from sd card
select VPT-Gingerbread-for-LG-Ally-RC1.zip
confirm
select reboot system
did follow up steps here, but still having problems with system trying to run car home
powered down, and copied some more roms to the sd card
hold down Volumn down, Send (button to left of home), menu, and end (power button) until LG shows then
release to get ClockworkMod Recovery v2.5.07 menu
wipe user data
wipe cache partition (didn't do this the first time around. was it needed?)
then as before choose a zip rom to install
choose VPT-Gingerbread-for-LG-Ally-Beta.zip
reboot
so the car home problem seems to have gone away, must have been due either to the stripped down beta or to the dalvik cache wipe, that fixed it. See https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/179585/ally-phone-voice-search-problem/179594#179594
so went into rom manager and reboot into recovery then reinstalled the above RC1 rom.
So far so good, no system crashing yet, again in the Viewpoint Technologies RC1 rom, from overheating causing the car home to try to start, so it must have been the cache causing that.
