Copy / paste / insert anything in file taking to long, even with calc off

[redconvertible]

I have been using Excel since it came out. Never really had this issue come up. On large files with a lot of calculations, I keep the Calc off which allows me to insert rows, columns, cut and paste without delay. Files over 100 MB, multiple pages - not a problem. But now I have a spreadsheet 60 MB, 70,000 rows, 60 columns wide and when I try any of the things I mention (calc is off), Excel slows to a crawl - can take 1 to 5 minutes to perform the act. No other spreadsheet open. I've cleaned the worksheet to make sure there are not extra columns / rows with data. Yes, there are a lot of calculation going on, but since it doesn't calc until I say so, it should't slow these functions down (when I do calc, takes 5 seconds max). I have tried creating a new workbook, but seems to have same issues.

Any clues as to improve this or what the problem is? Driving me nuts

Thanks
John P
Houston, TX