when someone sends me an email I dont always get the notification or I have to go to gmail and hit refresh. is there any setting I can change so I get a notification instanly? Thanks
So you're not getting a connection/sync error in gmail, right? If so...
One issue is that gmail doesn't notify for every email. For that use Gmail Notifier from the market.
The other issue is not receiving email until you refresh:
1)don't use a task killer
2)gmail app > settings > labels > inbox > sync all
3)consider turning off wifi