Modules are loaded on demand, but services are (re)loaded when the run level changes. Is there a service that makes use of the driver ? You can poke through the logs with System Tools > System Logs, or by looking at the messages in /var/log...
Also, the software for handling drivers/modules changed for kernel 2.6. Since Red Hat 9 uses the 2.4 kernel, it's up to you to set up the supporting tools for 2.6 if you are going to maintain a custom kernel.
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