Okay, so the issue I was running into was that JFreeChart 1.0.11 uses a GradientBarPainter by default for regular bar charts.
I found http://www.jfree.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=25785, showing how to disable this feature. you must use the renderer to set the default bar painter to a StandardBarPainter.
Thanks again, you've been extremely helpful while I've been learning how to navigate my way around jfreechart.
Cheers,
Bryan