You are obviously far more experienced than I, but I was paraphrasing the experiences of a few acquaintances who took a bus from Ekkamai based on my suggestion. This bus made several stops in Chonburi, albeit for a just a minute or two each, and then the bus terminated somewhere well north of the North Pattaya bus station. They were left to fend for themselves, but eventually found someone who transported them towards Pattaya in the back of a pick-up truck (not a regulation song tao). It was just a light rain so they did not get soaked through. Anyway, they were less than thrilled.

I just wanted people here to understand that they'll need to get to Ekkamai - yes, the BTS makes this easy or to the transport center at Suvarnabhumi, purchase a ticket and wait for the next bus to depart, and then once in Pattaya make their way from the bus station to their final destination via a song tao, or some other means