Brit,
Hang in there... I've been trying all the same things you have, with no success (so far over 20 man hours). I have an au8820 and am real curious to see if you get yours working. I'm probably just going to go out and buy an ALSA compatible sound card tho. It has been a real learning experience.
Also, big thanks to all responders... been trying the same suggestions as Brit
Regards
Dave
P.S. Anyone care to suggest a good (cheap) Linux PCI sound card with analog game port?