Perhaps a clue. I put a TryCatch in the app and got the following error to show up that I didn't realize was happening:

The 'Microsoft.ace.oledb.12.0' provider is not registered on the local machine.

Digging into this makes me think I have a problem using the 32-bit Access 2007 with the 64-bit Visual Studio by what I am finding on the intarwebs. I've tried installing the 32-bit Access runtime and database engine as some have suggested on other forums but it didn't fix the problem. Maybe my connection string, or maybe I just have to move back to my old XP box and start over. What a hassle.