OK, that makes more sense. I still don't know the answer, but before I was thinking the Sparkfun chip would work on Arduino but not on small board.
What is the full number on top of Sparkfun chip?
[edit]Something you might try with the Sparkfun m168 in the Arduino is a simple "hello World" sketch to display on serial monitor. If that is successful, then display to the LCD. This would confirm the Sparkfun m168 really is working correctly in the Arduino.[/edit]
Ken