Lee Ann, you might try posting your questions on the Growing Vegetables forum - the folks there are pretty good at IDing diseases. I think it's OK to let the squashes sit on the ground - pumpkins are a type of squash, and they're usuallly grown that way.

I envy you. My squash plants are already dying - they're succumbing to the dreaded Squash Vine Borer. I usually only have squash to harvest for a month at the most before the borers get them.

I've removed the SVB before, by slicing up from the entry hole with a little knife. They're really gross, and after that, I don't think anything in the garden has given me the heebie geebies again. I just buried the cut vine with an inch of soil, and it bounced back beautifully.