Hey Brent,
It sounds like you're nearly there! If you can turn the backlight on and off with the encoder button, then it sounds like you did, in fact, get the firmware loaded! It's much easier than you would think.
No display, even though you've adjusted the brightness pot, that's tougher: maybe a connection problem.
If you are in the U.S. and you don't have local gurus to ask for help, Jeff Moore, W1NC, has helped a lot of us (including me!) when our QMX was almost, but not quite, operating. You can find his contact info on qrz:
Todd W2TEF