Solved…
My server is a 64-bit machine while BizTalk is still 32-bit. The COM error received is due to a bug in running a 32-bit app on a 64-bit platform. The solution was to install a hotfix from Microsoft.
256340_ENU_x64_zip.exe is the name of the file I installed. The Microsoft KB article is #910907.
Thanks for everyone looking into this.
Michael