I messed with this on and off today. Got things working !

After researching google for "only the first character displays", I found a lot of people with the problem, and it indeed tied back into some bad code methods in MANY of the LiquidCrystal_IC2 libraries. After much time trying variations of downloaded versions and no luck, I found a post claiming things would work correctly if I deleted all of the garbage LiquidCrystal_IC2 libraries I previously tried, then just go into Arduino IDE > Sketch> Manage Libraries and install "LiquidCrystal_IC2 by Frank De Brabander".

THAT Worked !

In all the monkeying around, I did end up using the code provided over here though: Arduino control for a 3

Now with the Display issue solved, I can swing back and try the sketch from here and compare them.

Thanks !