I need a little info. Class A external preamps? Give me the whole chain if you please and what specifically is peaking...Audition individual track? Audition main fader? The 1800 channels?

Just two large diaphragm condenser microphones in the center of the room going into the 1800 then into the comp. I have both mics at line level with no gain. The peaking is on all the tracks in the multi-track view, like it starts to peak and then all of the tracks stop recording but the main record is still running. Sorry if this is confusing, I'm still a noob at this.

By line level, what do you mean? There is no line level for mic input. Is the gain knob (marked #6 in the manual definition page 7) turned all the way to the left? If you are turned all the way to the right then you are turned too loud. What LDC are you using?

Within Audition if you peak the waveform should still continue. All that happens is you get a red peak indicator on the tracks and/or master track. If your computer and it's resources are chugging (and Audition is a bit of a pig even though it is my DAW of choice) then the waveform doesn't always show until you hit stop. If the track stops recording then you need to tweak your computer. When actually laying in the tracks there is no way to adjust the input gain. You can pull the virtual fader down and prevent the master fader from peaking but the printed tracks are all controlled from the interface (US-1800).

By line level I do mean the gain knobs associated with both of my LDC's are turned all the way to the left... I have a M-Audio Nova and a Sterling ST51.

And within Audition the levels on all of the tracks are relatively low, reaching about 3/4th of the level meter at the loudest... never red. And I know what you mean by the program chugging; I've definitely run into instances where the waveform takes a little to load but it normally evens out and the latency is easily controlled through the interface. The problem is that it acts as though its peaking and picks up only segments of the actual waveform and then the tracks all die but the master keeps recording until I have to stop it and rerecord.

Thanks again for your time.

Ok. Your mic levels are fine or at least good enough since they never hit red. This is going to be an issue with your computer not being tweaked for audio. Do you have antivirus and firewall running? Is your wireless card off? I recommend you do a search for Black Viper Optimization or go over to my computer forum and find the link in the stick on optimizing computers. It really sounds like you have too much running in the background of the computer.

A good experiment for you would be to download Reaper and try that out. It is VERY forgiving of computers that aren't tweaked properly for audio. It is also super fast. I have taken to tracking in Reaper and importing into Audition for editing and finalizing with the mastering suite. At any rate, it would be good to check if you have the same exact issue with a different program.

Here is what you are probably actually experiencing:
Your level trims are all the way down. No doubt. But the microphone capsule is overloading the microphone's internal electronics. That's why many large diaphragm condenser microphones have " -10 DB" capsule pads. You need to turn that on to attenuate the capsule from overloading the microphones electronics. Then you may need to actually add some gain on your interface/microphone preamp to compensate for the microphones lower output level. This is what we all frequently have to do. If the microphone does not have a capsule pad, then this is the wrong microphone for your application. Try an SM58 and you'll have no problems.

Wasn't that easy?
Mx. Remy Ann David

Yes i agree that microphone could be wrong for application if it doesn't have capsule pad. And it is a good discussion and i liked the good informative discussion.

Yeah, I've narrowed it down to the microphones. With my room being so small and our amps being so cranked that definitely was overloading the mics. Recently, however, we played a gig in this really, really big room. I brought my recording setup and recorded the whole thing flawlessly. Just being out of that room made the difference.
Still need something to record with in my room at home though. Need to get a legit drum mic kit and just direct connect the rest of the guys or something.

If you want a batch of drum microphones, purchase what you'll normally use for PA. So I'm talking about an assortment of SM57/58's. Great on drums, perfect for amplified guitars, vocals. It's a staple of rock 'n roll recording. 5 or 6 should do it. You don't need any dedicated " bass drum" microphone. This is what most professionals use for a reason. And there's a reason for that. All you need is a couple of SDC and/or LDC's for drum overheads. And of course a couple of decent direct boxes passive or active and/or both. The source will really determine which one you should use. Active for guitar pickups. Passes for keyboard & preamp/amplifier outputs. You'll also find level setting to be less critical with these & they don't overload. This is what you must do. Everything else is just a phallus, see?

Do not be confused by my innuendo as I mean when I say.
Mx. Remy Ann David