Well I figured out the problem. The USB on my wheel was plugged in and it was overriding the controller the whole time. So my PS3 isn't possessed and/or dying yet
BUT, this whole night I kept getting disconnected from the server in the middle of a race. That was
if I could actually connect to the damn thing in the first place. People like to go online on a Saturday night, so fix your shit PD!
Edit: might try clearing the cache in GT5 since I've been online a lot. If that doesn't work, screw you PD!