I was logged in as administrator so I could run the virus scans properly. I decided to reformat and start over when I realized java was corrupted, and windows installer was not working either. I really don't think this was a glitch in windows vista, but rather a glitch in my brain, and being a bit cavalier with trying out freeware/shareware and running reg cleaners. The OS has been good to me thus far.

XTC46, I was able to boot with my vista upgrade cd, install without a cd key, and then install again, add my key, and it activated just fine. I'm not sure if this loophole is legal so don't necessarily advocate it, but all is well in vista land (as far as it can be).