I ordered a used VVT module on ebay. Cost me CAD $80 including shipping. Before I started cutting wires and replacing pigtails, I had another look at the connectors, which I had sprayed with Fluidfilm a couple weeks ago. Remarkably, the corrosion was heavily diminished and I could see a brassy-copper colour in almost all of the pin sockets, so I decided to remove the broken pin and see what would happen just plugging the module in.

(Oh, and for anyone curious on how to remove a broken pin easily, snap off a new blade on an Olfa knife and use the sharp point on the blade to pry it out.)

I reconnected the battery after plugging in the DME and VVT modules and hit the start button and it started and ran! Albeit, very sluggishly, and I had no throttle response whatsoever. In fact touching the throttle resulted in a stall.

So, I connected ISTA and saw to my amazement the the VTC modules were now green! So much for these companies that claim the module won't work unless it's paired with DME and CAS. Well, that's a $500 bullet dodged.

I ran the prodedure to test the limits of the VVT servos and I could definitely hear a servo spinning up from under the hood. But the test was aborted because ISTA showed that servo 2 was not responding. Looking into the electrical schematic, I saw the two relays and two 40A ATC fuses and remembered they were in the DME box, so I popped the fuses out again. I think I mentioned before that one of them looked like it had started to melt, but appeared to still be closed.
An ohmmeter check proved the opposite. Now, I don't recall in all my years as a mechanic, seeing and ATC fuse rated higher than 30A, so I was not surprised that there were none on the shelf at Canadian Tire. So I bought a different style of 40A fuse that has the same 1/4" blade socket as the ATC fuse. I made up two 3" long wire assemblies and installed the makeshift fuse.

I don't even think the engine cranked a full revolution and it started and idled smoothly, with very snappy throttle response. I let it warm up for about 15 minutes and until I felt pressure in the coolant hoses, before taking it for a short, slow drive around the neighbourhood. Everything felt great. No suspension or steering noises were heard and engine felt responsive and strong.

Now I have to tackle the trio of brake, ABS and 4x4 lights on the dash, likely related to the transfer case servo motor. ISTA won't let me run the servo calibration because there is a code present, despite clearing all fault codes and retrying the calibration procedure. Luckily, I have a spare servo from my X3, that has a good plastic gear inside.