I reinstalled the OS on my “HTPC” once again, this time moving from Knoppmyth to Ubuntu Dapper. I was quite surprised to see the tv-out on my video card worked on boot, and even all the way through starting X. After setting a default user to login, and x11vnc for controlling the screen, I was surprised at how little time it took to finish the project.
Now I can control my HTPC using VNC Viewer on my Nokia 770, any other computer, or a mouse/keyboard i have hidden under the television stand.