Disregard it...
I had to change the config-dist.php file... I too changed rights to 777 on everything from soup to nutz... i had to use a .htaccess file to solve the security problem... then i had to do the following that fixed the problem...
1.) Open the config-dist.php file
2.) Go to line 57 and change it from:
$CFG->dbpersist = false;
to
$CFG->dbpersist = 'true';
Notice the marks that wrap the word true (') these are needed in order for the script to run!
It worked for me... good luck to everyone else!!