Hello,
I am curious to know why you re-installed LabVIEW 7.1 and loaded DAQmx 7.2, when you previously already had DAQmx 8.7.1. I just want to make sure I am not missing an application preference or requirement. The 8.7.1 version of DAQmx had additional features and some known issue fixes compared to the older 7.2 or 8.1 DAQmx driver. I would recommend going back to 8.7.1 for upgrade convenience, since you are already going to take some time to upgrade the code from Traditional NI-DAQ to NI-DAQmx ? why not program with the newest released DAQmx driver.
I have also linked some widely used and very helpful documentation for upgrading applications from Traditional NI-DAQ to NI-DAQmx driver. The DAQmx driver does have lower level programming that will be more like your structure in Traditional NI-DAQ in comparison to the DAQ Assistant. The DAQ Assistant is an Express VI that trades low level programming for a user interface that does not require much programming experience. It sounds like you would prefer not using the DAQ Assistant Express VI and using the DAQmx functions instead.
The DAQmx functions are located Functions palette Measurement I/O section and then NI-DAQmx. These functions will not be use exactly similar to the Traditional NI-DAQ programming structure. However, the linked documentation will help with this transition or National Instruments support can also assist with some of your questions. I realize that I linked more than a couple of links, so I listed them in order of preference.
Developer Zone Tutorials:
<a href="http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/4342" target="_blank"> Transition from Traditional NI-DAQ to NI-DAQmx in LabVIEW</a>
<a href="http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/3021" target="_blank"> Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about NI-DAQmx and Traditional NI-DAQ (Legacy)</a>
<a href="http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/5468" target="_blank"> Getting Started with NI-DAQmx: Getting Started with NI-DAQmx Programming in LabVIEW</a>
<a href="http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/5438" target="_blank"> Getting Started with NI-DAQmx: Basic Programming with NI-DAQmx</a>
<a href="http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/2998" target="_blank"> Advantages of NI-DAQmx</a>