1. I updated my ld.so libraries from 1.7.14 to 1.8.5 (no idea how long THAT
was out of date).
2. I took the ld's documentation advice and compiled ELF support directly
into the kernel rather than have it as a module (it worked before as a
module, so I had no reason to compile it in).
That was it. Now it boots fine, as you can see:
Linux greywolf 2.1.15 #7 Mon Dec 16 12:14:24 EST 1996 i586
Thank you everyone for your input. I appreciate your help, and as another
linux-kernel'er said earlier: The support on here is better than any technical
support any company can give!
Ian