[api]

I wasn't clear in my OP: there was poor communication on both sides here. I was receiving mixed messages, with the company's VP basically claiming I wasn't able to deliver anything good enough and my immediate boss telling me to kind of punt on the thing. In retrospect I should have dug more deeply. Actually in retrospect I should have started looking for another job, since the VP line-jumping the team lead is a sign of insanely dysfunctional politics.

[candybar]

RyanZag is right that the way you approached this was probably not ideal, but it's quite appalling that the response to a raw display of passion and technical talent was dismissal. They don't deserve you, really.