I don't normally do this...
This thread is what irritates me the most about this software (not you Kipper, the software). Nobody should have to struggle like this to get a piece of software to communicate with a piece of hardware, especially when both are made by the same manufacturer. Based on threads here, it has to be the most common problem people face with FTVS and it should be the simplest. It's needlessly complicated.
That whole communications setup should be killed with fire and replaced with excel equivalent of 3 columns. Driver Name, IP Address, Processor Slot. Done. No multiple configurations. No fussing with RSLinx Enterprise (FactoryTalk Linx), none of that garbage. If you need backplane routing, fine add a column for that but leave it blank, I would bet that the majority of users aren't routing from one rack to another.
Every time I run into a system where the controller is newer than RSLinx Enterprise and you have to manually configure it to talk to the wrong PLC... and it works just fine... it makes me want to punch myself in the face. Why make me do all this cr4p when it doesn't even care in the end? Madness I tell you.
Sorry.