@David -- I assume with your HDMI adapter, you're dealing with Chinese eBay sellers. I find that you have to nag them (three times!) about everything in order to get anything done. It's usually after the third nearly identical message that they figure out that you actually want them to get off their duff and do something useful... I really don't understand why they're like that -- it's like they care only about the money they're getting, and that whether or not they actually ship product is a secondary concern (let alone what condition it is in once it arrives...).
I can actually recommend one particular seller -- they deal with driver boards for eg laptop LCDs, I got one for a Dell e6400 lid assembly from them -- they are under the eBay handle "ruohan666". They were extremely good, and when there was a problem (I /really/ should have removed that obviously spurious blob of solder before applying power to the kit!) they sent me a whole replacement kit, and did so rather speedily. But behavior like theirs is sadly the exception (and a grand one at that), rather than the rule.
Also, I feel your pain with the DP connector -- I have a project I keep putting off because I don't think I can manage the 0.4mm pitch Hirose-clone connector involved. It turns out that the LCD in my mother's deceased Nexus 7 tablet has *almost* the same timings as that e6400 LCD, and I have the LVDS connector's pinout and a spare driver board. I don't need the inverter board because driving the backlight is as simple as wiring up 5v and a 100k pot. The two panels may or may not in fact be compatible -- I'd love to find out -- but that damned connector stuffs two rows of fifteen pins into a 3/8" long space... I'm pretty decent with the ol' iron, but I don't think I'm *that* good.
For the record, the two timings that are out of spec on the Nexus 7 LCD are the front and back porches.
...and, as an aside -- if anyone wants to make a cable for my connector (it's Panasonic's AXT530124; Digikey has it; email me and I'll send you a picture of the pinout needed) and a cable for David, I'm sure we both will be eternally grateful. Depending on the time of the month, I may be able to Paypal a small amount ($10 or so) to help with expenses... I'm in North Carolina, USA, for shipping purposes.