Well once I got the cabling connected, the Nexus 7 shifted great............
BUT............
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,there seemed to be something not quite right with the wheel. I then noticed that it would wobble left a right. At first it seemed like the hub guts just weren't tightened down enough, but I tried that and the looseness was still there. So, I pulled up this YouTube on how to disassemble a Nexus 7 hub. First time I've done this with a Nexus 7.
Here are my pics during the operation. I always do this for reference for reassembly, or general reference later.
Shoutout to the little one buck Activity Tray from Dollar Tree!!! Gonna have to get some more of these. I honestly can't say that I discovered what was loose. Everything looked to be in great condition inside. Lubed it back up, put it back together and it feels solid and performs fine. Feels like it was a 2+ hour detour, but these kinda things are sorta like meditation sometimes.