Oh well. I guess this release candidate isn't quite ready for the shift show. Thanks for saving me some time.
Ok, I read through this thread [INFO] Unofficial Cyanogen Mod 7 Nightly Thread over at xda and others are reporting the same issue with the RC. They're saying they flashed Sparksco's kernel ( you can get it HERE )and it boots up fine and is running smooth. I'm using the same kernel with the Shift Deck ROM and it's really smooth.