I am not sure about what you are using solpart or dnnmenu ( the new menu for dotnetnuke portals ) if the second is the case you might be abvle to check this:
The structure of a root menu item is as follows.
<div class="NodeDefault" id="ctr1" title="bin">
<span class="NodeIconDefault">
<img id="icn1" src="images/folder.gif">
</span>
<span id="t1" class="NodeText">
RootMenuItem
</span>
</div>
<div class="NodeDefault" id="ctr1" title="bin">
<span class="NodeIconDefault">
<img id="icn1" src="images/folder.gif">
</span>
<span id="t1" class="NodeText">
RootMenuItem
</span>
</div>
The structure of a sub-item is as follows.
<div class="MenuClass" id="sub_1_1">
<div class="ChildNodeDefault" id="ctr_1_1_1">
<span class="NodeIconDefault">
<img id="icn_1_1_1" src="images/file.gif">
</span>
<span id="t_1_1_1" >
SubMenuItem
</span>
</div>
</div>
I never use this menu myself unless a cleint specifically wants me to. The way you describes it sounds as if you have a hoverclass for a menu item not defined
Instead of getting pissed of, why not get other solutions like the http://www.telerik.com menu, this is much easier to style
Armand