When I try to upgrade via Software Updates Kubuntu kinda hangs after I hit install. FYI before that I usually have to give it permission to "deselect packages that require additional packages," Not sure if that's relevant. I was hoping these packages would install because I've been having trouble shutting down my computer without it hanging either.

I would suggest you try contacting the Kubuntu people directly (via their forums, for example) as they're more knowledgeable about the internals of the distro.

I actually was able to fix this by fixing dpkg. I still don't know why Kubuntu won't shut down though. There are official forums to contact KDE?

The Kubuntu forums are located at http://www.kubuntuforums.net/forum.php