well, i figured it out. the big problem is that the checkboxlist controls are inside of a container which uses a master page.
for some reason (i guess i am retarted?) encapsulating the solution in a dll and using the register directive in the aspx file would not work due to the content/master. yes, i tried the 2 dudes from rolla dll answer - i'm sure that solution is OK if you don't have a content/master situation or maybe it does and i'm just ignorant of how to do that. but it validates checkboxlist controls like a champ.
oh, and the label controls do not wrap text like they were doing before. super easy, i just had to quit listening to ac/dc and put on some iron maiden.
so, the entire solution is in the aspx.vb file.
can i mark my own post as the answer?