i think i've got all the files out. the next step is seeing what's left in the registry to wipe out. then, i'll have to reinstall the drivers. this shouldn't be an epic process; i should be able to tell if it's making a difference in about an hour.

but, i'm thinking that the issue is that the windows media network shit was interfering with the alesis drivers. it's all consistent and makes sense. hopefully i'm right.