msvc linker error: can't find kernel32.lib

[Dustin via digitalmars-d-ldc]

I compiled ldc on Windows 7 following the instructions in the 
wiki, no issues there. I can compile D programs just fine with no 
linker errors only if I launch a visual studio 64 bit developer 
command prompt. However I want to use visualD to compile my 
programs. Visual studio doesn't even set the environment 
variables for the linker because I get the same "missing 
kernel32.lib" error. I tried reading vcvars64.bat, which is 
called when I launch the developer command prompt, to understand 
how the environment is set up, but I got totally lost trying to 
read it. Any suggestions on how I can permenantly set up my 
environment so visual studio's linker is happy?