HI Ben
OK, you are saying, you have 0V on the pin PTA0 (checked by the multimeter) and ADC sees value of some 550? Strange to me.
There is nothing visibly wrong with the code.
What about output impedance of your source?
Can you test the same in 8bit mode? There is errata related to ADC on QB summary page, however I guess it might be something hardwired on the board.
You can you also lift the pin up from PCB to disconnect it completely from the source and tie it to ground (rather Vrefl).
now make your ADC measurement - if you see 0 in there, just take the multimeter and look to the net where the pin was previously connected to - it was a leakage.
Pavel