Hello! Sorry for the late response (I've been ill, and my outgoing mail isn't working so well right now).
Strange! That's a lot of keys to not function. We haven't had problems just connecting the backlit upper case just like the non-backlit (with the exception of the one backlight cable that is added, which attaches to the logic board).
My first advice was to check the cable, but you did that already.
Next, go to System Preferences and select "Keyboard and Mouse." The fourth heading should be "Keyboard Shortcuts." Try selecting "Restore Defaults" to see if this restores the keys to their correct functionality.
If this doesn't fix the problem, try booting in Safe Mode (refer to [http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455|here] for the prodedure) and test the functionality to see if any third-party things are affecting it somehow (I doubt it, but it doesn't hurt to try!)
Unfortunately, if that doesn't work, your best bet is to [http://www.ifixit.com/Info/contact|set up a return] for the part.
Please keep us posted with your findings!