I also have rpm problems (but then I am on a slack box, and since it is my first and only distro right now, it is in bad need of a cleaning).  If I try to install an rpm, it complains about missing dependancies (like bash, glibc's, and other basic necessary utilities), so I end up using the "--no-deps" flag.  If it is for something that I have not used the rpm for before, everything goes smoothly.  If I try to uninstall it, it complains that it isn't installed.  If I try to re-install it, it complains that it is already installed.
Any ideas?
-t.