Features not working consistently: task list, navigation dropdown menus

Describe the bug

This issue is related to issues #7151, #7254, and #8114.

When programming in Python with Visual Studio 2022 Community - both standard release and preview release - certain features do not work correctly or consistently. In particular, the task list and the navigation dropdown menus.

The task list was the main issue. For the past 15 years, I have found the Visual Studio task list to be an invaluable tool. However, as I reported in issue #7254 (which was then merged into issue #7151), the task list has not been working properly in VS2022.

In issue #8114, @StellaHuang95 suggested I download and use the preview release of VS2022, so I did that, and the task list started working again... sometimes. Opening VS2022Preview will sometimes load the task list, and other times will simply not.

The same is true for the navigation dropdown menus. Sometimes these load correctly, and other times they simply do not. In fact, this varies between open projects/files.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open VS2022Preview.
2. Check the task list and the navigation dropdowns.

Expected behavior

The task list and navigation dropdown menus should always load correctly and consistently.

Additional context and screenshots

Screen recording demonstrating this issue (link should remain active until 1 Jan 2026):
https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aux-sta5GHQDi8pXHUNiORv5yMFr5Q?e=ozo4bH

Configuration information (If you are providing a diagnostics file (see below), skip this section)

VS Version: 17.13.0 Preview 2.1
PTVS version: 17.0.24323.2
Python version: 3.10.11 (tags/v3.10.11:7d4cc5a, Apr 5 2023, 00:38:17) [MSC v.1929 64 bit (AMD64)]
Debugger Type (if applicable): N/A

Diagnostics file

PythonToolsDiagnostics_20250101031732.log