Yeah, I've got some progress...
Take yourself a little gander at this sweet action:
It runs. The ST motor is in the TC and it starts and runs like a dream. So, this is the top of the hill. Nothing after this point is totally wacko - it's all been done before.
I did the thing that you see so often where a super crazy project is posted with lots of updates for a while and then it just goes dead forever. Well, I'm back and this thread is going to end in an absolutely glorious way. It isn't done now, but it certainly will be.