dropbox stop
dbus-launch ~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd
...
That will start dropbox with the system tray ("notification area") icon, instead of the nonfunctional "indicator area" icon. So, go into Dropbox settings via the icon that should now be working, and TURN OFF the check box to start dropbox automatically. Also, just to be sure, issue the following in terminal:
...
dropbox autostart n
...
/usr/share/applications
gksudo leafpad dropbox.desktop

replace "dropbox start-i" with
"dbus-launch dropbox start"