Okay - i figured it out. I hadn't previously connected via the command line to the end server. So when i finally DID connect via the command line, i realized it was apparently, in the background hanging at:

ben [~/deployscripts] n097719 $ sftp theservername
Connecting to theservername...
The authenticity of host 'theservername(xx.xxx.x.xx)' can't be establi
+shed.
RSA key fingerprint is 66:b3:58:c8:c3:af:62:0f:ea:41:43:b9:e9:ae:0a:6f
+.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes
Warning: Permanently added 'theservername,xx.xxx.x.xx' (RSA) to the li
+st of known hosts.
[download]

So once the key was added via a command line connect... it works.