jmc

Since the two letters have to be next to each other, think of them as forming a two-letter word $w$. So each license plate consists of 4 digits and $w$. For each digit there are 10 choices. There are $26\cdot 26$ choices for the letters of $w$, and there are 5 choices for the position of $w$. So the total number of distinct license plates is $5\cdot 10^4\cdot 26^2=\boxed{33,800,000}$.