Hey guys did a search and couldn’t find anyone else having this problem. When I am in the menu for retro arch, if i use the arrow keys on the keyboard or the d-pad on my ps4 controller the menu scrolls wildly. I have tried removing retro arch and re-installing. Since the problem persists after a re-install this leads me to believe there is a config file staying persistent after a install, removal, then re-install. If anyone could point me in a direction to remove or modify a file it would be appreciated. I am using mint linux 17.3 if that helps at all.
Found the solution to my problem, after some searching on other posts I found this command. This removed the persistent file and configuration that was causing the problem.
rm ~/.config/retroarch/retroarch.cfg
now onto the second problem I am having. I have three listing for snes games. I would like to remove the list of games retroarch currently has listed. Again I will search the forums and google for a solution. I have a feeling it is another config file that needs to be removed.
ok so after some google searching, I found that /.config is a hidden folder under the home directory. So opening my home directory, then going to the top menu and selecting view, show hidden files. This would list hidden directories. I then went into home/username/.config/retroarch/playlists/ Here I had 3 files which reference the 3 snes game system listings I had in retroarchs menu system. Once I deleted these files the game system links went away. Sorry to post all of this but If it helps a new user it was worth it. If not the mods can delete this post.
You’re right: any problem you/ve run into is likely to be a problem someone has or will run into previously/eventually, so thanks for posting your solutions 
For the menu going crazy, it sounds like you had disabled vsync at some point, which can happen if you hit the spacebar (the default hotkey for vsync enable/disable).