I chased down the missing function and then determined that the module that it resides within was never being loaded. Modified admin_setupwizard.php @ line 835 by adding 'require_code('news2');. ULed file to my server and then ran the SetupWizard with almost all options as Default. SetupWizard completed normally. I don't know if this is the correct place to modify. I will go back and pick my options requirements. Stay Tuned!
#2920 - RC21 manual extract crashed with Critical Error in Setup Wizzard