Entering Dates directly in Horizontal Axis range – Excel 2007?

In an Excel 2003 XY chart, I could enter dates (ex. 5-Aug-2008) directly into the Axis Options Min or Max to set my axis range. In Excel 2007, this does not seem to work. It seems that 2007 accepts only the sequential date number (ex 34567) and this is a pain. Am I missing something or did Excel remove this feature in 2007?