MT7612E mPCIe module fails in my Dell Laptop

I compiled mt76 for Kernel 4.10.5 but somehow it doesn't work well...
First of all, when loading the module, my system freezes (ie. mouse cursor not moving!) for about 15 seconds! Once loaded the module seems to be discovered, however, both wpa_supplicant as well as ip link set wlp2s0f0 up fails with RTNETLINK answers: Connection timed out and triggers that MCU error messages in the kernel log (see below).

[  988.994385] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: enabling device (0000 -> 0002)
[  989.044207] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: PCI->APIC IRQ transform: INT A -> IRQ 17
[  989.094375] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: ASIC revision: ffffffff
[  992.632032] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: Invalid MAC address, using random address 96:02:e8:bb:e1:1c
[  993.078242] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: ROM patch already applied
[  993.080736] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: Firmware Version: 0.0.00
[  993.080739] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: Build: 1
[  993.080742] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: Build Time: 201507311614____
[  993.084015] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: Firmware running!
[  994.095718] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: MCU message 1 (seq 1) timed out
[  994.105601] ieee80211 phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'minstrel_ht'
[  994.110266] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0 wlp2s0f0: renamed from wlan0
[ 1053.881343] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: MCU message 20 (seq 2) timed out
[ 1093.320641] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: MCU message 20 (seq 3) timed out
[ 1095.827263] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: MCU message 20 (seq 4) timed out
[ 1127.586682] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: MCU message 20 (seq 5) timed out

unloading and loading the module results in

[ 1137.426500] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: Refused to change power state, currently in D3
[ 1137.426519] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: PCI->APIC IRQ transform: INT ? -> IRQ 17
[ 1137.426658] mt76x2e 0000:02:00.0: ASIC revision: ffffffff
[ 1137.428418] mt76x2e: probe of 0000:02:00.0 failed with error -2

Start with the mt76x2e module initialization on Kernel 4.10.5 and reproduce the reported load, interface-up, and unload/reload sequences using the kernel log. Done means the module loads without freezing, wpa_supplicant and ip link set wlp2s0f0 up succeed, and the MCU timeout and PCI power-state errors no longer occur.