The HDBaseT org states that no special cabling is required and the technology will work over cat 5e/6.

Given the spec of 100m max cable length I find it hard to believe that the little bit of wire beyond the contacts (and it is a little bit - maybe 1/32) is going to have a significant impact.

The issue with corrosion is of greater concern.

And the fact that replacing one kind of an connector with another in one situation which then worked is hardly a statistically meaningful event. You might have used the same kind of connector and had the same result. There are many other variables in play beyond the kind of connector used.