so i converted the ssd to gpt right from windows.  I changed the "storage boot option control" to UEFI and when i booted into windows I confirmed that the BIOS mode was UEFI.  but when i tried to connect the 10th gpu it still wouldnt work.  Is there a setting that I missed or am I misunderstanding you completly and I am changing the wrong settings?

I do think the issue is the pcie lanes being occupied.  I think the cpu is running with 8 1x lanes and 2 4x lanes but I don't know how to force it to run at 16 1x lanes, or perhaps i am misunderstanding the possibility of that.