External Monitor causes MBP to turn off

I got my MBP back in April. I also got a Dell 2005FPW external monitor that I hook up to my MBP when I am at my desk. My MacBook Pro gets really, really hot, just like others and apparently that is ok. I guess it is no longer a "laptop" because it is too hot for a lap. Anyway, aside from being uncomfortable, the heat usually does not cause problems. However, I have found that when I plug in my external monitor and have both screens going and have my processors maxed with some video applications my MBP will just turn off. Not sleep, or anything else, it will simply turn off. This is while it is plugged into the power so it is not a battery problem. How can I get my MBP to stop turning off, aside from not plugging it into my external monitor and running intense applications?
Thanks,
Jonathan

Do the random shutdowns happen when you don't have your MBP
connected to the external display?
I have tried to duplicate the random shutdowns without the monitor attached, but to my touch, it feels as though the MBP does not get nearly as hot as it does with the external display attached.
Do the shutdowns happen with less intensive processor
tasks?
No, it is usually when I have multiple programs open and both cpu's are near their peak.
Are you using the display cable that came with the Dell
display? Is the cable firmly seated in the display and the
MBP?
Yes, I am using the cable that came with the Dell display. Yes, firmly seated.
Have you installed any third party software that uses
kernel extensions (like a temperature monitoring program)?
No, but I have downloaded TechToolDeluxe, I have just not run it yet. Should I?
Do you hear the fans come on at any time before it shuts
down?
Not that I noticed but I was not really paying attention.
A little more background information. I originally found this problem because I would have my MBP at my desk at home, hooked up to the power supply, external keyboard/speakers/monitor. I would start a video processing application running on a long task and go to bed. I would come back and the MBP would be off. I would turn it back on and the task I had it working on would be only partially completed.
So I took it to work where I sit in an air conditioned office and have it on a glass-top desk. I tried to hammer it with tons of programs being open and video processing applications. The CPU's would run on max for hours and the MBP would get plenty hot but would not shut donw.
It is only recently that I realized that the shutdowns happened only when connected to the external monitor. So I thought that perhaps the video card for the external port was producing just enough extra heat to get the MBP to shut down. To test this I ran the same video processing application that I usually run over night, only this time I left the external monitor detached. No shut down.
Does the TechToolDeluxe program measure heat? That would help to quantify the heat levels.

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