I personally know two people who got their PR under CEC using only NOC 4012 experience. They applied in March 2012 and May 2012, and both have already landed long ago.
I've heard that latter 2012 applicants have been given a very hard time by immigration lately, even though technically speaking, the new rules should not have applied to them, so they applied before January 1 2013. Also, you may find the following thread helpful
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/applying-for-cec-as-research-assistant-noc-4012-t123342.0.html
Good luck, and keep us updated.