i was told as much about the drivers, but still thought i'd include that info just in case someone asks. I've definitely put the cables in correctly with the tabs down. I've switched back and forth with the old keyboard and the new one, and the old one ALWAYS works and the new one never works. I'm just a bit baffled that device manager recognizes it as being fine, but not a single button works. I'm reasonably certain the keyboard is compatible, my laptop model is a hp dv7t-4100 and it's listed as being compatible with this particular keyboard, and the same info. is listed even with different replacement part companies. I'm becoming more and more suspicious that this is the wrong keyboard, but it sure looks exactly the same too.
Some more info (once again, not sure if pertinent): I/O Range: 0060-0060, I/O range: 0064-0064, IRQ 0x00000001 (01) and no conflicts.