solved
I finally figured out a way to enable the greyed out custom level in the security, internet option.
So apparently there's a hidden administrator built-in in Win7, even though your user shows as administrator and is very limited when it comes to changing security settings.
Follow the steps in Option Two from this link below
Built-in Administrator Account - Enable or Disable - Windows 7 Forums
you have to switch back and forth in order to use uncertified Active-X requiring sites that you want to use, but it's better than nothing.