Okay found a solution. Went here http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1421 . Mind you, it mentions Windows XP but it DOES apply to Windows Vista and Windows 7. Per the steps outlined on that page:
1) I started iTunes in Safe Mode. It didn't crash. Seemed to work fine. Then re-started in regular mode. Crash.
2) I created a temporary new user account on my PC (Start>Control Panel>User Accounts), even set it as an administrator account, named it "Test". Then, when logged into that account, I started iTunes in regular mode. No problems. So, this indicated to me that the problem was user account-specific.
3) I clicked on the "user specific troubleshooting" link on troubleshooting page, which gives a number of things to try to fix the issue. So I started with the first suggestion on the list, which is "Remove iTunes Preference File", showing two locations where instances of the file exists. The implication is that one of the files has been corrupted. So, I moved the first one to another folder and re-started iTunes. Crash. I put that file back. Then I moved the second one to the temporary folder. Restarted iTunes. Worked!
4) Backed up and re-synced. I did have to transfer the library, but not a big issue.
5) Deleted the iTunes Preferences file I moved. Then deleted the temporary test user account.
Haven't had any issues since. My guess is the latest update to iTunes really screwed things up.
Anyway, follow the link above with the suggestions listed. Your mileage may vary.