Thanks Darrel: "Pretty much ruins the LAB-X1 too." You're right:

"For example, to use the 18-pin PIC16F84 on the LAB-X1, first cut the traces
between the first 9 pads on headers.... "

They have got to be kidding...this is unbelievable. I'll just use Atmel devices for smaller applications. You can practically program those just by looking at them.