I just thought I would post this in case somebody spends as much time as I did searching for solutions and cursing.
As brilliantly described in this thread:
http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,95565.0.htmlReplies #11 - #12 are the key.
Just open Synaptic and update the kernel and reboot, that's it!
THANK YOU to members AS and muungwana for the simple solution,
and the education on kernel updates.
I learn something new every day, even if I don't want to...
THANKS AGAIN!