***Update!
I got the ROM updated with some quick clicking and some... shall I say, "gravity inspired" techniques. Flashed to Altell. Ran great. The new ROM did it's tweaking (Don't care about custom settings at the moment... just want this thing to work). Restarted. Working great. Hit the comm manager button... restarted. Steady green light with no screen. No button backlights... and I'm currently in bootload status so I know it's working. Going to try a different ROM.
~iNFiNiTUS
***btw - 25+ views and no replies? Thanks sooo much for the helpful advice!