After much Googling and seeing all the pages that told me to just flash unofficial software onto the phone to enable root access on my UNLOCKED DEVELOPMENT PHONE, I managed to find a solution (finally). :)
Install the android sdk and hook the phone up with the appropriate debug drivers. Run:
adb devices
And ensure that your device is connected. Then run:
adb shell
su
You should now be root. Run:
dd if=/system/bin/sh of=/system/bin/su
chmod 4755 /system/bin/su
Done. Rather than a 'true' su, it's simply a setuid root shell. Same shit. Enjoy.