It has been a very, very, very long time since I've used Access, but, I believe when referencing a date in an query, the date (or textbox storing the date) has to be encapsulated with # signs. SQL Server uses single quotes.

Your DBA should be able to provide you with the connection string that you can use.

I would also talk to your DBA about the possibilities of setting up a test and production environment so that after you (or the DBA) has imported the data from your Access database into your SQL Server, you have test side to play around with while doing your code rewrite. You will also have that as a platform against which to test any future requirements/enhancments.