Can't delete items

[Russ Denny]

I am using Outlook 2002. I exported my contacts to an
Excel file, removed unwanted entries and imported the
Excel file back into the Outlook Contacts folder. When I
try to open the imported entries I get a message that
says, "Can't open this item. Unknown Error". When I try
to delete any of the items I get "Unknown Error".
Is there anything I can do to delete the items and try
the exporting and importing again? Is there a way to
delete the contacts folder and create a new one?
Thanks,
Russ