iTunes cannot read contenents of my iPhone

I recently tried to transfer purchases from my iPhone4 (w/the latest iOS update) and it didnt work. I got an error message on my iTunes and my iPhone said I needed to delete some photos or videos. Instead I deleted some apps I already had transfered to my iTunres.
Now when I try to connect my iPhone to iTunes, I get an error message telling me the iTunes cannot read the contents of my iPhone and suggest I restore the iPhone to factory settings. This is pretty much the last thing on the planet I want to do.
My iPhone is NOT jailbroken. I have no idea why it would do this. I have recently backed up my phone but I dont want to lose any game saves on my apps or anything and I DEFINITELY dont want to lose any contacts or anything. Is there any other way around this? I have the latest iOS and the latest version of iTunes.
iOS 4