Mark, those are signal lines. Even fliped should not do any harm. I will give it a shot with 7 going on 12 for a start, but in a few days, as i am going in a short holiday tomorrow at 6 AM.
DTR and ASR stands for Data Terminal Ready and Data Set Ready, so the communication should be done by waiting for DTR signal...? Some systems that require DSR typically also raise Data Terminal Ready (DTR) to indicate they are ready to go but are just waiting for the other "partner". At least i remember so...