thought i would come back and give an update....
I ended up sending the radio back to BTWR, because i was convinced that the radio HAD a failure. Sure enough, they tested it and found fault in the faceplate. they warranted to unit, and the new one came two days ago. YES, I have a plethora of different length data cables, all shielded, that work PERFECT! The permanent install starts tomorrow...
Although, it appears that CHIRP has NO solid program for this radio, and im having some difficulty with the WOUXUN data cable....