i had i similar problem, but i didnt know if it was shin splints or not, but it felt like it sounds if you know what i mean!. this is what worked for me:
i stopped my running down to only once a week but kept up my fitness by using the excersise bike and step machine in the gym (a lot). i think this did two things: a) helped build more muscles in my lower body, especially in my lower legs; and b) helped get rid of about 10-20 lbs of weight.
now when i run i do one short lap of warm up, then stop, and then build up the number of laps, this also helped with the pump i was getting on the front/sides of my shins.
i also noticed that losing that weight (i want to close another couple of belt notches still though!) helped me a lot. for example, i have no problems with aching knees and feet after a long day on my feet at work, which was becoming a problem before.
i didnt know how much i would enjoy running, i had a forest gump moment the other day and just went for it! but i do want to look into different shoes as described here.
i hope you can make some sence of my ramblings! it seems/feels quite logical to me, but i am no doctor
cheers
bruce