Seems my reference was not applicable since it was for splitting up a string longer than the allowable 8000 SQL Server supports but still not unbounded like a MAX type.

Clearly you ran into a flaw in your Linked Server stack, maybe the driver misreports the MySQL metadata or the SQL Server Linked Server is interpreting the query incorrectly or some other strange integration issue in between.

This only strengthens my views against using Linked Servers for anything more than throwaway integration tasks, and only as a last resort at that.

Happy you got something working. Thanks for posting back.