I found the solution.
I am running windows 8.1 N
And apparently you need to download a 'feature pack' that has all the goodies in it that premier needs to operate.
I *think* I got mine from here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=16546
The computer had to restart so I lost the original page. But you get the idea. This fix worked for me! Good luck to anyone else who needs it.