I'm working on something a little unusual and I'm hoping someone familiar with ME7.8.x internals can point me in the right direction.

The car is-

2008 Porsche Cayman S
Bosch ME7.8.1 DME

I engine swapped it to a -

2011 9A1 MA1.21 3.4L (987.2 Cayman S / Cayman R engine)
Converted to port injection using 987.2 2.9 intake manifold and injectors

I am running the stock ME7.8.1, not SDI3, i adapted the stock harness to fit the new motor (retrofitting port injection ofc)

details:

9A1 crank sensor and trigger wheel/flywheel arrangement retained
Crank sensor location is the factory 9A1 bellhousing location
Cam sensors are the 9A1 sensors (same Bosch part number as M97)
MAF, throttle body, knock sensors, etc. are largely stock ME7-compatible hardware
Mechanical timing was not disturbed and engine was a known running engine before removal


Engine cranks normally
Tachometer reports RPM while cranking
Fuel is definitely being injected (strong fuel smell from exhaust after repeated crank attempts)
Immobilizer is functioning correctly
Engine does not attempt to catch at all
No backfires, pops, or signs of combustion

My current theory is that the DME is successfully decoding the crank wheel enough to calculate RPM but is not happy with crank/cam synchronization or trigger angle reference.

What I'm trying to determine:

Are there known synchronization differences between Porsche ME7.8.1 and ME7.8.2? (m97, vs 9a1 series engines)
Does anyone have DAMOS/XDF/A2L information for a 987.2 2.9 ME7.8.2?
Are crank trigger angle, sync tooth, or cam/crank correlation parameters exposed in calibration on these Porsche ME7 variants?
Has anyone compared a 987.1 ME7.8.1 binary against a 987.2 2.9 ME7.8.2 binary specifically for trigger/synchronization definitions?
Is there a way to determine synchronization status through ME7 logging channels?

The thing that keeps me focused on synchronization is that I have:

RPM signal
Fuel delivery
No combustion whatsoever

which feels more like a phase/reference issue than a missing sensor issue.

Any insight from people who have worked on Porsche ME7 binaries would be hugely appreciated.