Yes, I get that often too on large geometry imported. Usually it turns out to be part of the geometry that makes it choke. If you select parts of the surface to drape onto you might find roughly where it breaks.
MeadowHollowContour.jpgOkay, I am actually modifying my approach, I got a DEM of the site and modeled using Draw Contours, so it's a more elaborate model, (see images) which I would still like to apply the Google Earth image to. I will follow your instructions here, unless there's a difference with this approach.