MacBook Pro Unibody keyboard extender cable (for testing) & keycap rm?

The spacebar on my MacBookPro9,1 (15” Mid-2012 Non-Retina) replacement keyboard from iFixIt (item IF161-121-1) has failed. These questions/comments applies to this series of keyboards, hence is posted under the general MacBook Pro category rather than the specific model.

Question 1: Anyone know where to find a 30 pin/wire 0.50 mm pitch Flat Flex Cable (FFC) extender, to attach between a new keyboard under test as it sits in front of the Mac under test (bottom cover removed)? Roughly 6”/15 cm long looks about right. Over on Digi-Key i can easily find such cables with the flat contacts at each end, but no pre-made cables with sockets at one end (extenders), nor pre-made socket-to-socket connectors. I really don’t want to have to make a little PCB or do direct soldering of 2 sockets to adapt the end of these existing cables to something to which the keyboard under test can reliably connect. Cannot find anything pre-made online from any source.

Request of iFixIt, products for sale division: Please make and sell reliable extender cables, for testing! Given how many Macs in this series have keyboard issues, how hard it is to change out the keyboard, and how even the replacement keyboards iFixIt sells often have bad keys outta the box, to keep these machines out of e-waste/landfills(!) and keep our sanity, we need a way to test the replacement to ensure it’s 100% good before taking the whole Mac apart to replace the keyboard. Like the IF161-121-1 keyboard you sell, one cable should cover a whole range of machines, from 2009 through 2012. It might even cover more models.

Question 2: How are key caps—especially the space bar—safely removed on the iFixIt IF161-121-1 replacement keyboard? I do not have a reliable spare Mac at the moment, thus cannot risk breakage and rendering my machine’s internal keyboard unusable. (Hoping to work out a repair which works and is less painful than replacing the whole keyboard.)