2.0 tells me there is an update available and asks to restart. when the download bar shows it gets to about 10% then disappears and the error message pops that I can manually download from the website, which I have done to no avail. I've allowed exception in firewall disable my security suite and still it fails to download. this is getting frustrating that every time I open Galaxy it shuts and fails to download/update.

I had a similar issue but was able to download full version from the website and it fixed it..

Having the exact same issue as OP.

Update hits about 10%, and~ dies. Admin mode seemingly makes no difference, nor does disabling anti-virus programs.

It's been doing this for about... 5-6 versions?

As mentioned by comment #2, manual download and reinstall temporary side-steps the issue, but it's very annoying.