ah, after receiving the nut driver and replacement controller today, i discovered that the rj45 cable wasn't connected to the main pcb!
after re-attaching both, the keyboard now works as intended, infact, i am using it right now.
orihalcon did get back to me with some helpful info regarding the converter, but i have since replied back saying its all been resolved now and there was never an issue with the converter itself.
now i'm off to see if the seller would like his spare controller and nut driver back...
thanks everyone for the help.