Preflop raise is pretty questionable, like a lot of people said. I think it's better than calling, though, because calling frequently leads to a multiway pot OOP with AJo. I think it may be folding > raising > calling, but maybe raising's best.

The flop check behind is good as long as you call the turn bet [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]. You got mad at another poster for alluding to who has the lead in the hand, but I think it's a pretty important concept, especially because your opponents consider it. In this case, after you give up the lead on a draw-heavy flop like that, villain could easily be bluffing or semi-bluffing or value betting/protecting a T or a worse J or a bunch of crap.