Could you pls perform 'C-h v file-name-handler-alist' prior and after
opening your file?
When I do that and press <RET>, I get transient minibuffer output that says:
Wrong type argument: stringp, (require . elec-pair)
Same thing happens on second <RET>, but third one works — neat!
The C-x C-f behavior is unchanged after this: Still says file not found and brings up a local buffer.
As a second test, does it help to preload Tramp when starting Emacs, as
with 'emacs -Q -l tramp'?
That got tramp to work. Then I see the redisplay problem. :-)
- Tim