If you're having this much trouble with the CLI then you might be better off just using a combination of tcpdump and rotating log files. Use this command from the shell to rotate logs:
fs_cli -x "fsctl send_sighup"
Use the info on this page to collect a pcap:
http://wiki.freeswitch.org/wiki/Packet_CaptureIf you have Wireshark you can open the pcap and do some fun analysis. You can also "follow the tcp stream" and watch the messages going back and forth. Hopefully you'll see what's happening (or not happening) and then we can take it from there.
-MC