Visual C++ 2010 Express Service Pack Compiler Update Fails (v7.1 w/ SP1)

Ok, first I'm going to give a little background to my little conundrum. Lately I've been trying to get VC++ 2010 Express to target x64 platforms (it doesn't ship with x64 compilers). I've follow all sorts of recommendations and setup methods but I just can't seem to get it to work. I recently learned that the SP1 update for the Windows 7.1 SDK (you know, the one that supposedly has the compilers I need) erases the x64 compilers. So, I got the kb compiler fix from the Microsoft site and tried to install it and I keep getting an installation error:

-Summarized error (collapsed).

CleanupBlock (RemoveProduct) failed on product (Microsoft Visual C++ Compilers 2010 Standard - enu - x86). Msi Log: Visual C++ 2010 SP1 Compiler Update for Windows SDK v7.1_20120310_152656264-{2F8B731A-5F2D-3EA8-8B25-C3E5E43F4BDB}-RemoveProduct.txt Final Result: Installation failed with error code: (0x80070643), Fatal error during installation.

-Error log (expanded).

Action: Downloading Items
Action complete
Action: Performing actions on all Items
Entering Function: IronSpigot::BaseMspInstaller::PerformAction
Entering Function: IronSpigot::CleanupBlockInstaller::PerformMsiOperation
Action: RemoveProduct - {81455DEB-FC7E-3EE5-85CA-2EBDD9FD61EB}
Action complete ({81455DEB-FC7E-3EE5-85CA-2EBDD9FD61EB})
Action: RemoveProduct - {AC917391-EEBA-3240-81FF-1E9EC0D49403}
Action complete ({AC917391-EEBA-3240-81FF-1E9EC0D49403})
Action: RemoveProduct - Microsoft Visual C++ Compilers 2010 Standard - enu - x86
Returning IDOK. INSTALLMESSAGE_ERROR [Error 1324.The folder path 'Program Files' contains an invalid character.]
CleanupBlock (RemoveProduct) failed on product (Microsoft Visual C++ Compilers 2010 Standard - enu - x86). Msi Log: Visual C++ 2010 SP1 Compiler Update for Windows SDK v7.1_20120310_152656264-{2F8B731A-5F2D-3EA8-8B25-C3E5E43F4BDB}-RemoveProduct.txt
Return value - 0x643
Action complete. Log File: C:\Users\David\AppData\Local\Temp\Visual C++ 2010 SP1 Compiler Update for Windows SDK v7.1_20120310_152656264-{2F8B731A-5F2D-3EA8-8B25-C3E5E43F4BDB}-RemoveProduct.txt
failed
PerformMsiOperation returned 0x643
PerformMsiOperation returned 0x643
Final Result: Installation failed with error code: (0x80070643), Fatal error during installation. 
Action complete

I understand that it's a path error of some sort but I can't figure out what. Now, I know what you are probably going to say: "Reinstall everything".

But I already did and in the recommended order.... twice.

1. Install VC++ 2010 Express.
2. Install Windows 7.1 SDK. 3) Install
3. SP1 update for Windows 7.1 SDK.
4. Install Compiler update/patch (kb) for SP1.

...and I still manage to get the same error.

Please note that I had to do all of this because the 64 bit compilers are NOT included in VC++ 2010 Express. When I try to target the x64 bit platform in Visual C++ 2010 Express I get the following error:

1>Error: The "ConfigurationGeneral" rule is missing from the project.

and to top it off it basically turns my property pages blank unless I change the target platform to standard win32 x86. I am running Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium with 8 GB of RAM and an i7 4 core. Can anyone help me out?

On an additional note, I already tried Google and made sure to uncheck the "compilers" checkbox in the installation of the three setups that precede the kb fix. It's Saturday and I've been working on this thing since 11:00 AM, it's 3:40 PM now, and I'm about to throw my rig against the wall. I've got to fix this thing by Sunday evening because I have school Mon - Fri and I don't think I could keep my self from going insane if I had to spend another Saturday on this.