Better detail: this is the official LCD kit, the jumper on the back is in place, stackable headers with the twist, and by "lights up", yes, I was referring to the backlight.
I've generally been powering from the computer, but so far, it behaves the same way when plugged into an iPhone charger.
If I peg the contrast all the way up I see faint boxes on the top row, and nothing on the bottom. If I just apply 5v power and don't hook up data at all, the backlight stays on and with the contrast all the way up I see bright boxes on the top row and as I adjust down they turn to dark boxes and fade out, no boxes on the bottom row at any contrast level.