Mg, I can certainly understand your frustration. There was a similar wait of almost 6 months when the Turbofins first came out, and I had one of the earliest orders. Fortunately my local dealer did place the order when I paid and nobody lost it, so I got mine the first week they arrived.
As I remember, Hobie didn't receive their full shipment, and dealers received theirs based on order date, exactly as
jbernier indicated. If Hobie had rationed them, someone who ordered later might have got theirs first and I would have been a very unhappy customer! Hobie deals only with dealers, not customers, so they would have no way of distinguishing customer orders from dealer stock. Regardless, I would imagine Hobie ordered a lot more than Jared's "100".
I wonder if it's possible that your dealer simply screwed up and then passed the blame rather than face your disappointment? Unfortunately, there are a lot of folks who are not too good about admitting their mistakes (including me at times, according to my wife). On the other hand, you may be absolutely right about Hobie losing your order.
However your order managed to get fouled up, I'm glad you finally got your livewell and I really like your mod with pics. Thanks and happy fishing!