I have resolved the issue. Yes it is a very common problem. The problem isnt with PHP or the PHP install instructions posted on the net. It's with the default security settings on IIS 6.0 on Windows 2003. The default settings prohibit IIS from running DYNAMIC Content( ASP, CGI, PHP, etc... ). IIS. Enabling Dynamic Content on IIS 6.0 on Win 2003 is described in the 'Support and Help' system. Open Start->'Support and Help'->'Internet and Email Services'->'Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 security overview'
Here is what the help files say:
IIS 6.0 is fully locked down by default
When you install IIS, the service is installed in a highly secure and locked mode. By default, IIS serves only static content, which means that features such as Active Server Pages (ASP), ASP.NET, Indexing Service, server-side includes (SSI), Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV), and FrontPage Server Extensions do not work unless you enable them. If you do not enable these features after installing IIS, IIS returns a 404 error. To serve dynamic content and unlock these features, you must enable them by using IIS Manager. Administrators can enable or disable IIS functionality based on the needs of the organization. For more information, see "Enabling or Disabling Dynamic Content" in IIS 6.0 Help. Also, if an application extension is not mapped in IIS, IIS returns a 404 error. To map an application extension, see "Setting Application Mappings" in IIS 6.0 Help. For more information about troubleshooting 404 errors, see "Troubleshooting" in IIS 6.0 Help. For information about how to open IIS 6.0 Help, see To view Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 Help.
The help files show you how to enable Dynamic Content.
Also make sure your PHP.ini doc_root = "yourrootpath" parameter is set correctly. This should be the root of all your .PHP files.
Let me know if it works for you. Thanks!