Back in the house after a long day in the shop. Looking at this again.
Definitely the anti-virus (Avast!) was causing the delay. I set "f-engrave-138.exe" on Drive F as an "Exclusion" and BAM! Opens just as fast as previous versions.
Sorry to bore you all with this, but captured here for posterity! LOL!
Have a great weekend and thanks again, Scorch, for a great feat in programming.