the dos tells me System error 53 has occured. Network path was not found.
I get that error when I try to connect to a box that doesn't have file/print share enabled, or that particular share isn't there. I can't remember which one at the moment.

FYI- The default share for 2k is c$ which means its hidden

you would use

net use p: \\ip\c$

to connect to that one.