2nd Gen Platinum Sequoia rear hatch head scratcher

Anybody experience, and if they have, solved a door latch sensor issue on the rear hatch of their second gen sequoia?

I have a 2013 platinum that is acting up. The rear hatch closes and locks but it’s not engaging the “door open” sensor. Therefore it won’t lock. When I finally get it to lock, (after opening and closing the hatch till it works), the car soon recognizes the sensor disengaging making it think someone is trying to open the hatch. By the time that happens the alarm system goes off.

After some research, I thought it was the locking assembly so I bought the part from the dealer. I went home and installed it and the same thing. The door locks but doesn’t engage the sensor. What’s even worse is now the hatch won’t even unlock no matter what means of unlocking I’m using- key fob, drivers side dash button, etc. I don’t even hear the motor engaging. The rear latch doesn’t do anything when pulled nor does it engage the motor. I did make sure the electrical connections were plugged in but no dice. When I press the lock button I still get the long beep where the car thinks a door isn’t closed.

To avoid the alarm going off since I have the hatch closed and locked, I just disengaged the lock assembly plug from the harness.

Don’t understand how it got worse. Anyone experience this?

A couple of vids for ref:
https://youtu.be/EPyVJbK4jWQ
https://youtu.be/c1gXR0y_Tv4