Thanks for your response. It matches GD's advice to me "Contact WP because they only offer the .org version. GD won't talk about WP at all because it is a "3rd party" application even though they offer it for free to their users.
In the beginning of this project, I was unaware there was a difference between the .com and .org versions ... after all ... to the uninitiated ... they are both WordPress. Now I know there is a basic, core difference and the 2 products are not the same at all.
This is all moot anyway since my site is up and running using WP. There are still a few crickets lurking in the shadows and crevices that I am working on, but it works, and IMO is not too shabby for a first effort.
I was just upset that GD's support department lied to me about both issues I faced during the development and implementation of this project. I, in no way claim to know much at all about any web development tool, so their attitude was a huge hindrance.