Customization Feasibility Vantage 8.03.403D

Situation: I am trying to use native Vantage Customization in lieu of
Visual Studio or Service Connect, neither of which I have, to create a
program that reads an Excel spreadsheet and updates the part selling
prices in the Vantage db.

What I have done so far: I added a sheet to the PartForm with a button
control. I added VB.Net code to the Click event that successfully loops
through my excel speadsheet.

I am stuck when I try to reference adapters in my custom code, I get
type errors.

Is this approach even feasible or do I have to move on to other tools?
If it is possible, any special requirements for using the Part methods?
(I have used Price Lists in the past and would prefer to stay away from
them, they are not used by the Field Service module and are cumbersome
for our Customer Service folks.)

Thank you for any and all input!

Peter Dunbar
Halm Industries Co., Inc.