By default the volume levels on system are set to zero. I know it may sound silly but many (including myself) have done the "what's wrong" dance, installed new/various drivers, changed permissions, etc, etc..., only to find out that all the while the volume was set to zero and/or muted (usually just set to zero).
I would recommend using gamix (though try kmix - if your using kde first for generic settings). Gamix is almost dizzying in the amount of parameters one can control - especially with the SBLive/Audigy cards. Check such things as anolog vs digital speakers settings and the various different volumes. The amount of options can almost become a problem in and of themsleves, until one figures out what controls what.
Thanks for the suggestion Curtis! Unfortunately this doesn't help. I have tried several different mixer apps but still no sound. When I do the module dance (in my original email) the sound will work. I will happily try the mixers again though to see if magically one of them will gain control over this beast :) -- Marshall "Nothing is impossible, we just do not have all the anwsers to make the impossible, possible."