(1)PRESENTATION module doesn't install in Moodle 1.8x unless:
We changed presentation/db/mysql.sql by adding a null parameter as the first parameter on the inserts.

(2) CRITICAL: in lib.php, there is a loop that goes thru all the slides when you've inserted one, adding them to the database. But if the insert record fails, the loop stops and all subsequent slides are lost. This happens unpredictably and often, making the PRESENTATION module almost useless.

In lib.php:
In reordering slides, when an error occurred, all slides after the error were not preserved. -- still don't why it is happening.

       foreach $slides as $slide ....
if(!insert_record("presentation_slides", $slide_instance)){
error("ERROR :: Could not Update Presentation Slide" . $slide->id . "lib.php.");

If this fails, all the rest of the slides are lost.