firekat the [SHELL] hack and the ipdf install script are two different projects.
The [SHELL] hack allows an iLiad user to run shell scripts directly from the iLiad's main menu. It was designed and polished to be accessible to "Average Joe" users with minimal DOS experience. This "hack" would then allow them access to applications such as GNU Chess and x48.
Now ipdf on the other hand was never polished by me to be such an application. I had thought something was going to work out with iRex to make it available but its pretty clear that isn't going to happen. I am busy working on something far larger than ipdf that will provide the speed of ipdf and many other features, and it will be intended for "Average Joe's" to use.
Someone else came along and decided what I had accomplished with ipdf was important enough to try and polish it into something "Average Joe's" could access.
They seem to be off to a good start with the scripts, aren't doing anything obviously silly and all I can wish is that they were here to follow up with your questions.
I can't do all of this myself so I am supportive of their efforts, we need more iRex developers, but please understand that it is
their project to create an install script for ipdf.