And then it worked! :D

After meetme2theriver suggested that I uninstall and reinstall my game to see if that would help (because I'd tried just about everything else that might solve the DirectX problem), I stripped everything back as far as the Pets EP and got an error message saying that the EP had installed incorrectly. Aha! I tried loading up the game, and sure enough, it worked.

Ripp crying, while Tank ponders how he ended up with such a pussy for a brother. Yup, all is right with the world.

So now I add back the rest of the EPs again and see how that goes. :) The graphics looked great and the load times were blissfully quick. I wonder if it'll stay that way once I reinstall everything and drop all my cc back in.

Thanks, Meetme! ^_^ As always, you've been very helpful. Sometimes all you need is a fresh perspective on a problem.