[wp-hackers] phpsuexec and .htaccess

[Podz]

I posted this to the forums, but then realised this could be the better 
place :)

--
Moving to a new host

PHP version 4.3.11
Apache version 1.3.33 (Unix)
phpsuexec is running somewhere

Problem:
.htaccess is not generated, written to or even seen.

What I have done:
Fresh 1.5.2 code, set .htaccess to 666 generated default permalinks. WP 
reports NO error, but .htaccess is not modified.
Removed the .htaccess - exactly the same thing - no error reported.
Set permissions on the .htaccess to 644, try to update and again get a 
success message.

Repeated all that with the latest code.

I have copied a .htaccess from the previous host and then things work - 
but if I add a Page, that 404's because the .htaccess is not written to.

So without the .htaccess, it's back to un-pretty links, but why is WP 
not reporting errors when it should be ?

 From their support:
"runs PHP as CGI. This is a security feature called phpsuexec. You will 
need to check with the script maker for any support involving running 
their script with phpsuexec and to see if this issue (not generating a 
correct .htaccess file) is common on servers running phpsuexec or what 
other issue or feature can be causing your issue. Mod_rewrite is active 
on all servers "
They helpfully indicate that I might find some help for this problem in 
these forums :)

I've done all I know and it's definitely this phpsuexec that is throwing 
the spanner in the works - what can I do / try next ?

phpinfo if it helps: http://www.blackroseimmortal.com/a.php
(It's a friend's domain I now host)

Podz