Thanks. Regarding the cbSysInit() I'm initializing the memory pool, mailbox, and tasks after this call so it should be OK.
I've swapped the chPoolInit() for the for loop. No difference in operation.
The oddness is that I have to prime the Mailbox with a post in setup() to get things to work. If I leave this out, the LCD thread does not seem to wake up.
Github is down right now, so I'm unable to look at some of the other examples. From memory though, I don't recall them having to do this.
I'll keep twiddling with it. I will likely add a few interrupts to the mix as well which will kick the tasks off. I'll let you know if I find anything else.
Oh, and thanks again for the port. Happy Holidays!