oh should have added ....getting error pervasive permissions in 17.1 so i am unable to upgrade the data files. i think that something was missed in 15.1 that may be blocking file upgrades in 17.1

We have noticed several upgrades from v15 to either v16 or v17 with this issue.  Commonly in the past we would restrict the Timberline Office folder and everything below it to only give full access to Domain Admins, SYSTEM, and a custom AD Group called Sage 300 CRE Users.   We have had to go back and add the EVERYONE group to this folder and propagate this down to all sub folders and then are able to move forward with the upgrade.  In your case, you can try this with the Timberline Office\Data folder structure.

I would not recommend uninstalling and going back.  Need to move forward if you want to print W2.  Besides, uninstalling and reinstalling old version is going to cause a lot more collateral issues.  Unless your server is virtual and you did a snapshot, your best bet it to move forward.