Can you confirm if your is Access 32-bit or 64-bit, and if you created a 32-bit ODBC data source connection for MicroStation V8i?
MicroStation V8i is 32-bit and requires a 32-bit registered ODBC connection via the 32-bit (2nd listed) ODBC data source manager:
C:\Windows\System32\odbcad32.exe (For 64-bit application connections)
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe (For 32-bit application connections)
MicroStation CONNECT Edition is 64-bit and would require registering your ODBC connection via the 1st ODBC data source manager.
Please note in both cases above, you would need to download and install a respective 3rd party ODBC driver if the connection target is not one Windows supports natively
HTH,
Bob