Supermicro X9DRL-iF troubles

Hi folks,

I am having trouble setting up a Supermicro X9DRL-iF. I have a pair of 2.3Ghz Xeons and 8 sticks of 1600Mhz 8gb DDR3 memory. It wont POST.

I think the strangest things are: (1) noting every appears on my monitor, though I have confirmed the correct monitor input is active and that the VGA port is enabled on mobo; (2) that the system powers on whenever I turn on power supply, even before I press the front panel power button, even if i disconnect the front power button.

It is as if the power switch jumper is closed even when it is disconnected. Does that sound like a short? I will try removing the mobo and see what happens.

Meanwhile, the rebooting loop occurs even with the reset switch disconnected. At one point I wondered if I had these on backward (though I honestly thought these were polarity neutral).

The Seasonic X-1050 power supply is connected to the 24 pin and both 8 pin inputs.

Advice dearly welcomed!