I'm afraid I can't tell from this post what you actually did do.
First off, test it with no loads connected, and see if you get the correct voltage levels.
Secondly, check that your power supplies have enough current capability to power all the loads.
Thirdly, you can apply > 7 VDC to either the coaxial Power Jack, or to the Vin pin on the
Power header, but a statement like "7.4v unregulated connected directly to the redback" isn't
specific enough to tell where you actually connected it.
Fourthly, some people claim it's ok to connect a regulated 5V source directly to the 5V pin on the
Power header, but it may blow the 5V v.reg on the board - and who knows what they use on the
Spider for a v.reg.