I'm also a web dev. I think the issue has to do with the input fields provided, and the data it's being matched to. It asks for "City of Birth" (or whatever), but typically the agents don't enter this - all they do is enter country (different field), because that's what's on the passport. BUT they also have the "City of Birth" field set to required, so you have to enter something. Surprisingly, entering 1 space works - I assume it validates because it's technically 'filled', but the entry is null so it doesn't try to match it. Either or the agents are entering 1 space on their end too! Lol.
Here's how I got it to work: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/linking-mycic-account-to-pr-application-t439261.0.html;msg5450674#msg5450674