I just took a 4000M switch in our lab a put it back on C.08.22 firmware (C.06.01 ROM). Next I used the Firmware Update Wizard in ProCurve Manager Plus (PCM+) ver 1.6 (Product Version B.01.607) to update this switch. The firmware transfer and reboot succeeded without incident.
Therefore, I know that there are no ROM version dependencies required for the update. Further, I know that PCM+ 1.6 can successfully perform the operation you're attempting.
The commands used by PCM+ to complete the firmware scan and trigger the update are SNMP. Be sure your read-only and read-write community strings in PCM match those set on the switch.
Otherwise, back to basic troubleshooting to see how and where your switches "hung." I used a packet capture (using an inline hub) to confirm the SNMP commands issued by PCM to my switch. Perhaps something could be seen through a direct serial console session to your switch during the update attempt?