Truth be told, the compressor and AC line is still sitting on the shelf in my shop. With 2 little kids, finding time to wrench seems near impossible at my house. It's still on my to-do list, and I'm reasonably sure it will work if you use the pre-LCI compressor and line. As soon as I get it changed, I'll post to this thread with the feedback. We've been taking the X5 on camping trips this summer and still have 3 more planned. So hopefully sometime in Q3 after school starts. Post back if you beat me to it!

LOL I get it. Given that my compressor has lasted for 168K and 16 years, I decided to replace with the same unit vs. converting. It will probably outlast the car (or at least my ownership!)

Generally, the symptoms you describe point to the compressor control valve being bad. The control valve costs about $30 (plus vacuuming/recharging the system.