Hi Ted,
I have 7 and 9, and like you I've come across the later .max files that they won't touch..grrr!. If you want to view them, you can use the Autocad online viewer, other than that, as you say, you need a later 3dsmax prog.
You can download and install various trial versions, but I bet they won't allow any export. If it/they do allow .dxf file export, I can help with that.
Cheers
Shessi