Address Book/Contacts/Google/iPhone Sync = Tons of Duplicates?

Hi, folks - I'm syncing my contacts with Google, using the following:
1. iPhone: Google Sync for Calendars & Contacts using Microsoft Exchange
2. Macbook: Address Book also syncing to Google under Preferences.
This setup is creating tons of duplicate contacts each day. It's usually the same handful of contacts that get duplicated dozens and dozens of times throughout the day, bloating my few hundred contacts into thousands of entries.
I'm guessing that the set-up below is creating some kind of infinite loop for certain items, and doubles them every time it tries to sync. But I can't find any common characteristics for the items that keep duplicating.
I'm sure the easiest fix would be to turn off option 2, and stop trying to keep my Macbook's local contact list in sync. But that's my way of "backing up" incase my Google account ever gets hosed for any reason.
Does anybody know:
1. How I can fix my set-up above to stop the dupe-loop, OR
2. How to troubleshoot each contact that's duping, fix fields/data etc OR
3. A better way to auto-backup Google so I don't have to use Option 2 at all?
Thanks!
Michael

Have the same problem.
Today, as usual did a sync and was very pleased to find that almost all my contacts on IPhone were duplicated. Weird, not all of them.
The problem is that I have to double check every contact, because the duplication was a bit...weird also. Not all duplicates are the same. One might contain all info about a contact and another one might have only one phone number.
So, this is a BIG problem.
I tried deleting all contacts from my Outlook database and sync.
Oh, the joy of having all your IPhone contacts DELETED without even a warning.
Restored a backup and got all my Contacts back, duplicated of course.
Believe me, I am DEAD AFRAID of using ITunes again. Maybe for the ones that did the programing of it might have some logic, but for me, as well as for many Apple customers with the same problem (and more) I think NOT.
This piece of software must have been written on some crazy after party weekend, because I cannot understand how such a big name like Apple can release such a badly written application.
Do we have an alternative to ITunes?
I am using it for backing up my contacts, because I tend to loose my phone all the time
I would use it for purchasing some interesting software from the store, but, most of the software I like...are not in my country's store :)) (Google Earth, The Discovery software, etc). Way to go!
I do remember Nokia and their little application. So easy to do anything. Apple, weak up!!!
Message was edited by: Inteq

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