>1) how can I get to the CLI ? ssh doesn't seem to work and it doesn't seem
>available from console

No CLI, no ssh. The menu you see on the console is all you get.

>2) is there a tcpdump or similar so that I can capture packets at the
>interface

not in m0n0

The closest you can get to a shell is the http://monoip/exec.php ,
though someone has written an addon that allows you to run a shell.

sorry for being completely unhelpful.
sai