I can't help with the PIC programming issue you are having, but once you get past that are you sure the dongle was not working? Could it have been the SSC was not working (since you mention it would not program)?
How are you testing the dongle?
I only ask because a number of us were/are having issues getting the SSC programmed and there have been a few workaround posted. For me it ended up being to use a different firmware on the SSC.