After more testing, I have simple added the VM as a shortcut and added the -X switch to the target. Opening the VM in full screen so far has caused USB mass storage devices to open on the VM first.
So, in Windows I open the shortcut to my VirtualMachine.vmx, then edit the TARGET field to:
"C:\Program Files\VMWare\VMWare Workstation\vmware.exe" -X -q "C:\LOCATION OF THE VIRTUAL MACHINE YOU WANT TO RUN"
The "-X" switch causes the VM to automatically run and open in full screen when the .vmw virtual machine is launched. the "-q" switch tells the VM to close VMWare.exe when the VM is shut down.