welcome to the forums.
when I try to update my M1001 software it says I'm already up to date. (3.0.44).
3.0.44 is the latest official version, so yes, your M1001 is up to date.
How do i force the m1001 to upgrade to 3.0.52
You can't, as 3.0.52 is no longer available. However, this is not of great importance as it dealt with an issue concerning iTunes 7.7 which Apple fixed soon afterwards.
My problem is my Roku has trouble connecting to Itunes 8 (which I hate).
iTunes 8 is heavily outdated, you should perform an update to 10.5.
Greetings
dupondt