okey_dokey

Hi everyone. My situation sucks. As an undergraduate, I had a few F's and was on academic probation but graduated with a 3.2 in electrical engineering from a mid level ranked uni. Yes I had bad study habits. Then I thought about going to graduate school in engineering so I registered as a non degree graduate student and I got a F in that single graduate class. That was ten years ago. I then took time to figure out what I wanted to do in life and worked ten years as an engineer. I concluded my study habits and grades sucked because I was not following my passion in life and because I hated engineering, I did not study and was a poor student and I paid a heavy price for it. I became a more mature, serious, and humbled student. I then applied for a mba (I got probationary acceptance) and graduated with a gpa of 3.7. Now I want to apply for a PhD in economics in a higher ranking school (no not an ivy or top 25 school) and again I am panicking. Are they still going to dig through my past? I am afraid they say 'you had a few Fs as an undergrad and then another as a graduate student and even though it was ten years ago - adios amigo'. Should I mention it in my LOR or will it just bring attention to something from 10 years ago? The LOR did not ask for an essay of 'additional information'. I don't want to dwell in my past and make excuses, I learned from them and moved on. I feel my poor study habits made me a better, driven student now and more appreciative of the skills I have to offer. All my econ and stat prerequisite grades have so far been A A A A A A as were my mba grades, I have shown academically that I am no longer the person I was 10 years ago and I hope they ignore my past transgressions, but I still worry. Was anyone in a similar situation? Any advice?