No text on console

[Nathanael Hasbrouck <natbrouck@webryders.net>]

I've got an interesting problem - after recompiling my kernel, I now don't 
have any text on my console.  I still have a cursor, but no text is 
actually printed after lilo starts the kernel booting.  No text on any of 
my virtual consoles, either.  Everything is fine and dandy on 2.6.6, but 
2.6.7 and 2.6.8.1 both break.

Also, buttons 6 & 7(the forward/back buttons on the side) on my 
Intellimouse Explorer don't work anymore either, but don't know if it's 
related.

Has anyone run across this before? Google hasn't told me so, if anyone has.  
dmesg output and kernel .config(s) will be posted if anyone wants to 
peruse for oddities I'm not knowledgeable enough to catch.  Console 
framebuffer *is* turned on...  

NRH
-- 
Die? I should say not, dear fellow. No Barrymore would allow such a 
conventional thing to happen to him. - John Barrymore's dying words