Watercooled R9 290X not detected.

Hi all,

I have a watercooled R9 290X that's not being detected at all by my system. Full specs as follows:

MSI Z97I Gaming AC (mITX board)
i7 4790K
16GB (2x8GB) Avexir 1866 DDR3 RAM
Gigabyte R9 290X Windforce
500GB SSD w/ Win7 Pro x64
Asus BD-R
NZXT Hale90 V2 850W

I've watercooled the CPU and GPU with 6x120 worth of rads and a MCP-655 pump

Integrated graphics work without any issues, but it's when I try to use the 290X I get no signal at all. In Device Manager the 290X isn't even listed under graphics adapters, and there are no conflicting devices listed either. It's like it doesn't even exist.

I'm using HDMI to connect to a monitor.

I've tried using different PCI-E power cables tested with both a multimeter and a PSU tester to ensure that the card is getting power, which it should be.

Any suggestions or advice? I don't have another motherboard with which to test, and considering it's watercooled and using rigid tubing, uninstalling it and putting the stock cooler on is a bit of a pain to try.

Do you know that the card was working before you put it in the loop?

No. I know, rookie mistake. Kicking myself now. I really need a test bench system.

Have you used any GPU in that motherboard before?

No, it was never tested before watercooling it.

I tried connecting the fan header from the stock heatsink to the card, and the weird thing is that the fans actually power on with the system.

Another weird thing, in MSI's UEFI, there's a Board Explorer that tells you what is connected to which port, and for the PCI-E slot it shows that it is empty. I've checked that the card is seated properly, and I believe it is, but again with the rigid tubing it's hard to reseat it without causing a leak...