I solved the ajax link error problem I posted above. In case anyone else encounters it, here is what I did.
First, I thought it was Internet Explorer, so I FINALLY installed opera, but still had same issue (this was not the fix).
Then, I made sure I was running a 32 bit browser (now in Opera), then I went to sun.com and downloaded newest java version (7.7 as of today) and installed it. Still had issue.
Then I rebooted even though neither install called for it, problem now gone. Hope this helps others.