Apologies for the typo, the to rule I had was also: ip rule to 44.0.0.0/9 priority 1 table 44
I've done some additional testing by bringing up a second debian device, performing the same configuration using a different 44net ip (w/dns entry) from my allocation, & putting the second device in the DMZ which results in connectivity across the UCSD gateway with no delay.
I sincerely appreciate the feedback - it's definitely been a learning experience & I may try to replicate from another location with a different ISP/CPE/etc..