I also experienced issues with long cables and bought a short one to test. Although the long cable worked, I often needed to disconnect and connect it again to get the Arduino programmed, and though it was some connection issue, but seems it's the cable length that affected the signal. I will...
Can you confirm that the MIC polarity is correct? Also, check that you have adjusted the potentiometers to a low setting, while set them to a high level may saturate the amplifier.
Wire gauge is important for the amount of current it can carry without significant heating. If you are going to pull much current from the power supply then you need thick wires, otherwise normal gauge will work.