"For me the answer turned out to be the sequence and timing in which I was trying to connect. Here is what I would recommend:
 
1.)    Update to the latest version of the APM Planner
2.)    Update your Ardupilot Firmware to the latest version
3.)   …"

" 
Mavlink is now mysteriously working. I wish I could share some specific fix for other who may run into this but it just started working on my laptop for some reason. I don’t know why or how long it will last… So at this point I’m attaching…"

"Well, fortunately I was able to rule out the APM Hardware and APM Planner as potential sources of this problem. I moved my desktop PC into a part of my house that allowed my APM board to get a GPS lock and I can connect via the MAVLink and use the…"

"I see what you mean about the GPS missing. I tried it again this morning and this time I do see the GPS. I’m not sure where you are seeing the ?G though. Do you mean where it reads ??***UL right after the Init Accel part?
 
Also, if I go under the…"

"Thank You for the quick replies. I’ve attached the screenshots Chris and Michael asked for. The tlog files all appear to be empty. There is one that is 1KB in size but it just a few random characters in the file.
 
Chris - Yes I've loaded the coded…"

"Thanks Chris,
Well, that’s unfortunate news. At this point I’m wondering if my board is going to function properly under the APM 1.0 version. I attached a picture of the r, p and y values changing drastically without me ever moving the board.
 
Do…"