Ok, I can report now that after exhausting all ideas and having no success with the Glovepie flashing method, I bit the bullet and downloaded the Ubuntu CD, did a linux boot-to-cd, and after struggling with how to enter the code (finally thought to open a terminal and copy/paste ;-/) I got the job done. Bluetooth connectivity and wireless joystock gaming on the N900 at last!

Thanks to those who helped me out. I will say to anyone struggling with this, the linux boot method works very well and wasn't so painful.