Walter,
Thank you for your response. Before I originally asked my question I came across the thread you mention and was not able to get my answer.
The first case they talk about is after the exe has been created on the distributed machine. That doesn't do me any good since I want the distributable package to have my icon, not the default icon bundled in by the application compiler.
The second case they talk about seems to be what I want...but things have changed since 2012. Matlab's application compiler has been reframed. MS-visual studio will no longer create a C++ windows console application anymore.
So, if that thread answers my question, then I still need some more help in the execution.