Hi BigZed,
Glad to hear that you are getting there
I have heard of the problem where the DVD was required to boot but not used as is your case. In other cases the problem was caused by an incorrect entry in the vista BCD where somehow this was pointing a file location to the DVD location when the system found the the file the boot continued normally. this appears to be what is happening in your case.
if you download and install Easy BCD this will allow you to edit the details of the bootloader to correct the error
Download EasyBCD 1.7.2 - NeoSmart Technologies
When you have downloaded and installed you should be able to use the advanced tools to correct the error (make sure you use the program to backup your current settings before you do anything!!
)
Full instructions (and a lot more information), can be found at the Wiki ...
EasyBCD Documentation Home - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki
you may want to have a look at the forum there as is a lot of good information there too
Hopefully with a little bit more work
you will get the system how you want it to be. The final part of getting it all back may get a llittle technical but if you follow the information on the site I'm sure it's possible