I did get the cell phone to sync by delicate mechanical tweaking of the connection to the cell phone. In some positions, though visually appearing to be connected, iSync reported no device. In others, the screen response froze (cursor movement possible). In one difficult to find position, it simply syncs, as intended. Cell phone power is on in all of these. Maybe there's a short in some positions?
Anyway, it appears to work adequately, now.