Fred,
I think the real improvements with regard to USB can be found in the NI-VISA driver over the last few versions, so LabVIEW probably isn't a big a part of your equation as your NI-VISA version. Starting with version 3.0, NI-VISA supports USB communications natively and provides tools for RAW communications with an arbitrary device. See
this tutorial for more information.
Just another possible lead for you to explore.
Regards,
John