And OF COURSE it's a trivial issue such as playing around with certain aspects of the main executable. It now works, here's what I did:
For those with the same problem, I put the application into windowed mode, (Right click properties on ralauncher95.exe, shortcut tab, type "-win" after the file path, should look like this or similar "C:\Program Files (x86)\Red Alert\RA95Launcher.exe" -win, press ok). Also put compatibility mode on for windows 8 (right click on ralaucher95.exe, compatibility tab hit "run this program in compatibility mode for" and hit your OS). Keep in mind it was for win 8, so it may not work for you if you have a different OS
Also did a full reboot just to be sure
Big respect to Nyerguds and Funky for your clever suggestions, thank you both, I appreciate it.
With respect,
KAM