All
I finally got it working after experiencing all the same problems.
You need to be running it with PHP 5
add this line to your .htaccess file at the top
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php5 .php
and then upload in ASCII format NOT Binary.
When you try to install you may get the message "Zend Optimizer Not installed".
Talk to your host to make sure Zend Optimizer is installed for you. When they sort that out baddabing....no more hanging on the ingredients screen and completes the install.
Worked for me anyway (after about 4 days of trying!)
Hope this helps
Chris