My cache settings were missing from Sim Update 8 until a couple of weeks ago. I finally got them back when I took a total shot in the dark and did one more reinstall of the entire sim. SIX previous reinstalls accomplished absolutely nothing, but this time while it was installing I went ahead and started the sim when it reached the “Ready to Start” point in the installation. That’s the little arrow on the progress bar at which games can be played to a limited extent while they finish installing in the background.
I was stunned when I entered the sim at that point and saw that all of the missing menus, as well as the missing Delete function in Content Manager, were back! First time I had seen any of those in about two months.
I don’t know if it was just a coincidence or if jumping into the sim right when it hits that “Ready to Start” point is some kind of key to solving the problem, but it’s worth a try if you haven’t done it. I wish I could say that this trick also fixed the horrible performance, but alas it did not. One weird caveat, though. On the first flight I tried after jumping in at the early start point, I had the only smooth flight since Sim Update 8 came out. However, every flight since then has been a stutter, freeze, and crash fest.