OK guys! And to anyone who picks up this thread. The situation has been resolved. It seems that Impulse has been installing DesktopX incorrectly every time I rebuilt my computer. I don't understand how but the only way I was able to fix it was to use a specific file from Stardock which is used to do a perfect uninstall of their software. After the uninstall, Impulse was able to install it correctly. I am as puzzled about this as I am happy to finally see the program working right for the first time.
Even though I had Object Desktop it must have been installing the client version only. My guess is it must have been a messed up registration from earlier version of Impulse which could only be resolved after annihilating any prior evidence, and using the newer version of Impulse to register it. Although it is still curious why the "reset data" feature of Impulse was unable to fix it.