> - software is pre-loaded, system is power cycled, SW does not start but then I make pin reset
> (short RST pin to ground go a moment) - when I release the RST the SW starts
I would look at your TRST pin. It should go low/high the same as the chip reset pin.
The only other idea was if you were using RAM from the beginning (address 0x20000000) because after POR, address 0x20000000 - 0x20020000 is disabled. So, maybe the debugger was turning it on for you, but when you run stand alone it was being left disabled.
See register "System Control Register 3 (SYSCR3)" for turning it on.