If you are still relying only on Flex Builder to debug your Adobe Flex applications, you should definitely take a look at the free Flex Spy, Reflex Util and KapInspect utilities. I have been using these for only a day now and have already found them very useful for troubleshooting and optimizing visual components. All three utilities run directly within the main application and are easy to install and configure. 

FlexSpy

KapInspect