Thanks for the replies. I wound up reaching an EPP specific rep who made several calls to me and other Telus desks over several hours one day. If everything comes through as described, I will be sending a letter of praise to Telus letting them know he saved them from losing three new lines and has rebuilt some confidence. If you are on an EPP plan, use epp@telus (not eppcare@telus as described in the welcome) or EPP help number 1-877-460-1195.
Last, if you have a company, school or association email address you can use that to check if you qualify for an EPP plan on the Telus website here:
https://evs.telus.com/en/evs?channel_id=MOBILEAXS&campaign_id=EPPDigitalHubNew or just search Telus epp
Hope that makes a few peoples path a little less bumpy than mine!