My apologies in regards to indicating there was a problem withthe wcu_devel_2.0.1_fixed. It turns out that either a) Windows directX files were corrupted or b) I needed to upgrade directX to 9.0C or c) Windows itself was corrupted.
By reformatting my windows partition and installing clean everything, then installing wcu_devel_2.0.1_fixed and the subsquent patches the problems are now gone and the game loads properly
Again Spirit, my apologies for sending you on a wild goose chase for naught.
regards Quixotal