It's probably just a typing error in your post but I note that in the connection string under the <appSettings> node your have pwd=;xxx while under the <connectionStrings> node you do not have the semicolon following pwd=

There should be a semicolon after each key=value pair including the final one and no others. The <connectionStrings> node connectionString looks fine but I'm guessing that it is the one throwing the exception.

I'd be especially suspicious of problems in the area around the password (pwd=) as this is where character position 56 would be.  Could there be a non-printing or illegal character in the password?

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Bill, WESNet Designs
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