Spent all my day trying to talk to the boards via USB. The USB chip enumerates fine. But read/write fails. The socket that plugs into the cable is a bit flaky. Can that be a problem? If so, why did the device enumerate fine? I have all these questions unanswered.
One thing is for sure. Hardware and low level hacking is a lot of fun.. and frustrating. I didn't set out to do this during these holidays. Dismantling it all and taking it back home with me.