Hi There,
What kind of FirePass is it? I've seen similar issues on the FirePass 4300 with various networking devices even when the interface speeds were hard set. For example, I had my FirePass 4300 hard set at 100Full and I was using a Nortel switch set at 100F and for some reason the FirePass came up at 100Half. Took the same port (without *any* reconfiguration) and plugged it into a HP ProCurve set at 100F and both sides came up perfectly!
I then put the FirePass port back to auto, plugged it back into the Nortel and both sides came up at 100Full!! I write off down the un-reliability of negotiation on Fast Ethernet switch ports. Gig ports are *MUCH* better. Is the switch board in the 6509 at 10/100 or a 10/100/1000. My instinct tells me your connecting a FirePass 4300 to a 10/100 switch port on your 6509. In which case i think you'll need to 'fiddle' to get it working correctly.
Cheers,
Mal