Yes thank you, I have seem to have found the problem. I was not running DCS world steam version of open beta. When I ran the beta version on steam, it found the game in the lobby and we can join. Thanks for the assistance! In short: If you run DCS open beta server, make sure you are running DCS world beta version.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/223750/discussions/0/1735468061762962880/