I'm sorry Dan,
I know nothing about PHP.
If the AHCMD is working well for you then stick with it, but I would suggest you explore a way of using the dlls.
Eventually you'll have sending issues and it is best you know what is most likely the cause.
Perhaps if you start a new thread dedicated to PHP someone will jump in with another means.
Bill and I have discussed the fact that
someone should build a new AHCMD that over comes the flakiness of this one.