Hi Stephen,
[quote]Is there a way to connect to the target and run the code without downloading the code? [/quote]
You won't be able to debug your code unless you load it. Anyways, did you try loading your code to other flash sections?
[quote]I was trying to find a way to make the code download faster. Is there a way to fix it?[/quote]
What you did is fine, erasing couple of sectors or the ones you're using speeds up the loading process. But this should not result to the above error you're experiencing. Above error occurs when Device is damaged or the flash sections has been locked.
Regards,
Gautam