Below is a walkthrough of the steps I took to install VSTF (Visual Studio Team Foundation) on a VPC.  I found a path that worked for me.  I'm providing it as a reference both for myself and for others that might need it.  I ran into issues during my initial installation. These turned out to be problems with my base installation of Windows on my VPC, not VSTF.

Here's the steps I took:

1. Downloaded the most current version of the VSTF installation guide from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=40042  
2. Created a VPC with windows 2003 SP 1.  I installed Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1), Enterprise Edition.
3. Created three local service accounts.  I created the following custom accounts: "tfsetup", "tfserviceaccount", "tfreportingaccount."  I added my "tfsetup" to the local administrators group.  I added my "tfservice" account and "tfreportingaccount" to the IIS_WPG group.
4. I logged out of Windows and then logged in using my "tfsetup" account.
5. Installed IIS 6 and selected ASP.NET during the installation.
6. Rebooted.
7. Ran Windows Update at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.  I ran the Express check.
8. Installed SQL Server 2005 Enterprise.  On the SQL Server Database Services page, I installed the following components: Analysis Services, Integration Services, Reporting Services.  On the Feature Selection page, under Client Components, I selected to install Management.  On the Service Account page, I selected to use the built-in System account.  I selected local system.  In Start services at the end of setup, I selected all services: SQL Server, SQL  Server Agent, Analysis Services, Reporting Services, and SQL Browser.  On the Authentication Mode screen, I chose Windows Authentication Mode.  On the Report Server Installation Options page, I chose Install default configuration.  On the Error and Usage Report Settings, I chose "Automatically send Error reports for SQL Server 2005 to Microsoft or your corporate error`reporting server" and "Automatically send Feature Usage data for SQL Server 2005 to Microsoft."
9. Rebooted
10. Installed Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP1 (SQLServer2005SP1-KB913090-x86-ENU.exe) from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=57414. SP1 included the hotfix that updates SQL Server Analysis Services to support reporting  more efficiently.  When I encountered locked files during the install I stopped the SQL Services using the SQL Server Configuration Manager. 
11. Rebooted.
12. Installed the .NET Framework 2.0 HotFix.  I installed KB913393 (NDP20-KB913393-X86.exe) from the VSTF installation media.
13. Installed  SharePoint Services with Service Pack 2  (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=55087)  On the Type of Installation page, I selected Server Farm.  After setup completed, I browsed to http://localhost:13667/configadminvs.aspx.  I didn't make any changes.  I went to Windows Update and checked for critical updates using the Express option.
14. Rebooted.
15. Installed Team Foundation Server.  I chose Single-Server Installation.  On the System Health Check, I ran into an error.  The error message told me that the SQL Server Agent service was stopped.  I enabled the SQL Server Agent using the Services applet from the control panel and set it to automatic.  On the Service Account page, I used my custom local account: "tfserviceaccount" On the Reporting Data Source Account page, I used my custom local account:  "tfreportingaccount."  I completed the installation without further issues.
16. Rebooted.

I don't think it was actually necessary to do all the reboots that I did.  Personally, I've found that interspersing reboots during product installations help me avoid common installation hiccups.