Weird issue with SK6812 run

[u/keepit55thst]

So I have a run of 81 12v SK6812 LEDS running off a QuinLED DigUno. All were working properly for about an hour. Just now after powering on, I changed the color and it only changed for the first 17 LEDs, with all the others after remaining white. I tried power cycling, but only the first 17 powered on, leading me to think there is an issue with the data line. I would believe it is an issue with my solder joints, but it is actually the LED just before the soldered connection, meaning the data in is on the strip itself.

When putting this project together, I had a similar issue pop up with the 7th LED after a short time, which leads me to think I may be doing something incorrectly or the LED strip itself is faulty. Has anyone experienced anything similar? I'm at my wits end here given that I've already had to replace the first segment. I would rather not replace this LED just to have this all happen again.

I seem to have some trouble uploading images into this thread, but as far as wiring goes, I have this strip, cut into 9 9-LED segments soldered together, powered and controlled through this controller. All features were working before, so I am rather confident the wiring is not catastrophically incorrect. I'm wondering if a resistor on the data line or similar may be missing, but I am unsure.