database connection errors

hey all… i’m to the point of the installation process where I run the install script from a browser, but i get the infamous ‘Error establishing a database connection ur a n00b’ msg when I hit http://irvlnxtst01/wp-admin/install.php

I’ve edited wp-config.php with the correct dbase name, user, passwd & host. I’ve verified that mysql is indeed running, and used the mysql client to verify that the name, user & passwd were correct.

I created the dbase using mysql & following these instructions:
http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress#Using_the_MySQL_Client

I’ve manually reset the password (as recommended by http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress#Common_Installation_Problems)

also, I followed these instructions to install & configure mysql itself:
http://wiki.novell.com/index.php/Installing_MediaWiki_on_SLES_9
(i realize that these are instructions for media wiki… I followed only the mysql section, and stopped short of the mediawiki install – apache & php were installed prior to mysql)

this is pretty much my first LAMP implementation from the ground up – are there other permissions and/or pwnerships (files, dirs or groups) that I should check?

thanks in advance for you help!