As an F.Y.I for the user group here, I did find the answer to my problem in a microsoft user group posting. On the VS.NET windows component CD, there is an install file that can be invoked from the command prompt which will reinstall certain components - I don't care which ones, but my apps suddenly run after running the following:

:\dotNetFramework\dotnetfx.exe /t:c:\temp /c:"msiexec.exe /fvecms c:\temp\netfx.msi"

Not sure what all the switches are, but it worked for both my machines to get IIS and ASP.NET running correctly.

Thanks to those who contributed here...this is a valuable resource!

Steve Howie, owner
DaSH Technology
Denver, CO