Looks to have been an exchange server issue. Imap was refusing OStickets login requests:
Subject: Mail Fetch Failure Alert
The system is having trouble fetching emails from the following mail account:
User: helptickets
Host: imapserver.domain.edu
Error: Too many login failures
5 consecutive errors. Maximum of 5 allowed
This could be connection issues related to the host. Next delayed login attempt in aprox. 10 minutes
All of a sudden, the emails (Read or Unread) all pulled at one time & generated about 15 tickets instantly.