I heard it from David de Caussin (now of i-t-s.com / fadalvmcparts) himself this morning that macros over DNC was a standard included software at a certain moment - but he doesn't recall specifically which version was the first to have it. He said that the -5 cpu + the software that came with it would definitely work, and that maybe older versions would have that feature too. So, it seems that the software upgrade will help. I have three software upgrade boards on the way to me right now. one or two of them are version 96, and one of the is version 101.
I didn't find a version 103.5 board for cheap yet, but it is possible that i'll bite the bullet and pay full price for one at about $400 if it is necessary. that software version is evidently compatible with the -4 cards, and came standard (minimum version) with the -5 cards.