Vivitar Ring Flash Problem

[Joseph Tainter]

I have been to-ing and fro-ing for some time about whether a ring flash 
is the answer to my macro lighting problems. Being uncertain, I haven't 
wanted to invest in Pentax's expensive model. So recently I got a used 
Vivitar 6000 AF Macro Flash (Pentax TTL model, of course). Putting it on 
my PZ-1p, the first few firings went fine. Then the mirror and shutter 
stopped returning after the flash. Soon this was happening on every 
shot. I tried both Hyper Program and Shutter Priority. Same problem both 
ways.

A long time ago someone on the list posted having a similar problem with 
a flash. Is there a workaround? Or do I have a dud?

Has anyone else tried this body/flash combination? Appreciate any thoughts.

Joe