Did you use a genuine category-5 cable tester?
A genuine CAT 5 cable tester. Who ever thought my days of being a cable monkey would let me do fun stuff like wire up my EMPEG??

Yeah, but surfing the internet doesn't saturate the line, does it?
I am not surfing. I am saturating the hub, getting up to 50% utilization on it.

Have you tested it with a shorter cable run? For instance, plugging it into the PC directly with a store-bought (not made-yourself) crossover cable? It's time to start eliminating failure points in the connection, and that's the first place to start
I have tried it with store bought cable. I have tried it with a small cable with my EMPEG right next to my PC and a small hub between the two.

Trust me, I have tried all manner of tests. Nothing has yet to point to faulty wiring.

Squid2k1
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18GB of Green Mk II Fury - Fast As A Shark