I wanted to come back to my thread and update folks. It's common to complain about things when something goes wrong. It's rare when we come back after [insert company name] makes it right.
With Justin's help (big kudos), I was able to get my RMA submitted. He set everything in motion and communicated with me promptly thru the process. Besides not being able to submit my RMA myself....it was pretty painless and Asus had a brand new board (not refurbed) in my hands in about 3 weeks (this included shipping both ways).
I was a little nervous my RMA would be denied, get a refurb replacement or they would ship the old board back unrepaired to me after reading online. Not at all the case....great support from my experience. It's good to see the company stick by the product and make me right. I have been using Asus products in my builds for at least 20yrs and this was my first RMA with them (hopefully the last) but they were great in dealing with the issue!