Hi freenasrast,
A couple of random thoughts:
You can get a full-height bracket for the M1015 for $10.00, I recommend you do so....it's not a bad idea to have the card bolted to the chassis!
Here's the guide I usually refer people to for flashing an M1015 to IT mode:
http://www.servethehome.com/ibm-serveraid-m1015-part-4/
It might be worth checking Google & see if anyone has actually gotten a 1015 to work in the "video card" PCI-e slot. It certainly *should* work, but sometimes reality is different.
Get your cables from Monoprice.com, might be worth checking around the house for any HDMI or other miscellaneous cables you need & order them all at once.
On a side note, if you haven't ordered the PERC yet, don't....see if you can find an IBM 5014\5015 on the ebay...it's a much better\faster card than a PERC5\6 series & works great in ESXi.
-Will