Ouch.
There's a possibility that the RJ could cause problems, if two of the wires are touching. I'm guessing all of the communications ultimately come from the same place...
It's also possible that sending voltage where it wasn't wanted could have messed with the chip. Very possible, I would say from experience. I messed up a RAM stick once just by walking across the carpet before I picked it up. Lot higher voltage involved in that incident, but then I've seen an intermittant ground mess up a display on a GM car more than once...
