Finally figured it out. Had my controller using a preset of its own; I had to change the mode to mobo controlled. Sorry about that!!
So I now have direct control with just some weirdness. The colors do not correspond to what is set; there appears to be some mapping or shift in play. And the brightness controller also just loops on itself. And finally for effects like “Breathe”, instead of the smooth dimming, it just has a stepped (discrete) effect, not continuous.
Just checking back in, @CalcProgrammer1@lemmy.ml , any ideas?