JeremyTBradshaw ...finally, I did a quick test on another machine where I was able to import the cert to the LocalSystem CurrentUser\My store (after verifying the same failure without it), and it *did* seem to then find the cert, however I have another problem on that machine to solve, probably unrelated to this, as I get the same error (not cert-related) in an interactive PS session. In any case, the "cert not found" error went away with the cert in LocalSystem's cert:\CurrentUser\My store.
So, normal human beings cannot import the cert to a store that LocalSystem will find. Only PowerShell can (or Win32). Hoping for a fix.
Thanks for the ideas - it was a big help.