i checked the kaserror.log file and there is nothing there. unfortunately i do not currently have access to the kserver.log file.
thank you for the information about using rdp and the agent. i know i've read that before but i seem to have forgotten. after adding the -remote switch i can verify that kausrtsk does run (still no icon) and now the agent isn't checking in, either. i can still telnet to the server with no issues.
i honestly don't suspect kaseya to be the main culprit here, but i'm running out of ideas.