When you say "NICs in my config are online", you're reffering to the onboard ones?
I watched this thread from the start and everything you posted. I'm in the same situation, gen8 baremetal, 16gb + 1230v2, but with onboard nics.
I have jun's loader + dsm 6.2.3.
I tried redpill, but i was unsuccesfull, like you, because my onboard nics were offline.
What should i try next?