pg_connect fails, pgsql works

Hello All,

I'm using php 5.1.6 on a RHEL 5 system connecting to a postgresql server
version 8.2.3. I think that TCP connections are enabled correctly in
the server's pg_hba.conf and I can successfully connect from the client
using pgsql. However, trying to use pg_connect() w/ a call like:

$con = pg_connect("host='postgres1.ngdc.noaa.gov' port=5432
sslmode='allow' user='test' password='mypassword' dbname='test'")

fails saying:

Unable to connect to PostgreSQL server: could not connect to server:
Permission denied\n\tIs the server running on host
"postgres1.ngdc.noaa.gov" and accepting\n\tTCP/IP connections
on port 5432?

I'm perplexed since I can connect w/ pgsql from the same workstation
using the same database, user, password.

Can anyone help me out here?

Thanks!

-- john