I thought I posted above that this is under Windows 7. On top of that, the fact that the old drivers have zero issue is pointing to a problem with the drivers.
The issue I experience is not that letters do not print. They print out, but they are corrupt in the exact same spot on several pages. The characters appear incorrect on the output having a garbled appearance.
The only way I can show "examples" would be to take a picture of the bad output. In order to do that, I would have to install the bad latest drivers again.
Right now, I am printing with zero issues using the old drivers, so this will be the solution for me for the time being.