I've been quite remiss on keeping up with this entry...actually, I thought I had closed it already...
I ended up with a simple solution, a small form with an unbound image box and a text field to contain a folder path. User sets the folder path, and can use another button to File Open the folder, browse through the files (suggested using Thumbnail view) and selecting the file to open the form and the image. Simplistic, and still waiting for feedback from the user, but I think it will be plenty for him.
Thanks again for all the help and suggestions...