I was able to make everything work last night with a radiocrack adaptaplug set (2x M connectors) and the supplied 4pin adapater thanks to the help of everyone here, so I'm positive now it was the cable I received that was bad.
I've been a lagger about following up with Ed, though, and I decided to try and totally isolate the issue first and be certain before doing that. I do not want to make any 'customer service' commentary, because I have not followed up there until I contact Ed and ask him to fix/redo. Sorry to hear about your issues Mark. Hopefully, it is just a matter of people sometimes making mistakes, and giving a chance to fix it. I know I can be quite a space-case at times. Sometimes embarrassment and personal issues get in the way of prompt follow up, and I'll hope it will be taken care of soon for both of us.