Does a dues paying home owner in an association have a legal right to contact board members directly with questions and comments?

The answer is "it depends." As a general matter, directors of a homeowners association owe no duty to individual members; they owe their duty to the association. Thus, as a purely legal matter, you may be relegated to making your inquiries in official meetings of the association. That, after all, is what meetings of the association are for. All of that having been said, it's a free country, and you are free to write or call anyone. They have no duty to respond to you.