cardkb + rpi5 = ??????

are there any others out there with experience using an m5 cardkb as input for a pi 5 via i2c? bought the lil gizmo to use for the rippler. i have followed the github tutorials, and short of my pi’s GPIO pins having an issue i cannot figure out what’s wrong. i2cdetect brings up absolutely no address for the keyboard. please tell me i’m not alone in this