My host has me over a barrel.  I've placed myself in a pickle. How to handle?
theantidote: I agree with most of the above. Move to a more cost effective host, optimize your Apache server, and use page caching in Drupal. I think it's as simple as a checkbox in the settings somewhere, but it's been a few months since I've worked with Drupal.http://drupal.org/getting-started/6/admin/settings
The manual says caching is under the Performance section and it's disabled by default.