A better gated reverb

I don't remember if the version in "The Big Book of SONAR Tips" is different from the original tip, but I did the technique described in the book, and it worked as expected. The only thing I can think of is that Input Echo isn't on for the Aux Track, but don't know why that would lead to freezing or crashing. Consider trying a simple project with just the gated reverb to verify that it works. Here's an excerpt from the book just in case there was an error in the original tip.
 
Although this tip highlights how to use an Aux Track, you can also do this tip with conventional sends. The advantage with the Aux track is that the effect is right next to the source track in the Track View, so you don’t have to bounce back and forth between the Track pane and Bus pane when tweaking; also, you can record the gated reverb sound into the Aux track, which comes in handy if you want to slide the timing around during the mix, or tweak something like the gate release in real time and record the results. Here are the steps.
 
1. Insert a Send in the source track and assign it to “New Aux Track.” Set the send to Pre.
2. In the Aux Track FX Rack, insert a reverb followed by a Sonitus:fx Gate.
3. Insert another Send (also set to Pre) in the source track and assign it to the Sonitus:fx Gate (side input) so that the gate is side-chained to the audio track.
  
Audio in the source track opens the gate and lets through the reverb. For best results, set the reverb mix to Wet only, and dial in a smooth-sounding reverb with a long tail. If you’re using the Breverb, try the “Ball Room” program from the Hall bank, click on the Main tab, and then increase the Time parameter to around 10 seconds. Set size to 50 percent or so.
 
The Gate parameters have a huge influence on the sound. For a traditional gated sound, set the Hold to around 200ms and Decay to about 40ms. The shorter the Decay, the more abrupt the gating. If you need to avoid stepping on a percussive sound's attack, add a tiny bit of Attack (around 4-5ms).
 
Adjust the Threshold for reliable triggering, and Depth to how much you want the reverb attenuated when the Gate is closed. Adjust the amount of dry signal with the original audio track's Volume slider, and the wet signal at the Breverb or with the Send bus's Volume.

It will be interesting to see if that makes a difference. I used an Aux track but maybe there's some particular condition that makes an Aux track problematic.