The reason they were able to give me the January 1st number was that was when they took over as transfer agent, so it was readily available. So, this appears to be a new transfer agent as of 1/1/15. Call them yourself, as I listed the number in my post. I talked to Michelle. Let me know if and when you call.
Have you had enough time to confirm the information I received from the transfer agent? I had not seen any response yet, and thought I might have overlooked it.