Instead of removing the update program, I recommend manually grabbing the new iTunes release manually...
The presence of newly release iTunes 7.3.1 appears to be tripping v7.3 as it checks for new releases.
You can resolve this by running "Apple Software Update" (should be in your Start menu) and letting it download the new 7.3.1 version.
If that doesn't work, go to
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download and install the new iTunes release from there.