phd advisor hasn't kept a promise (and may not care) - do I address this directly? if so, how best to do that?
I would not assume malice or intent when just plain forgetfulness is likely. There are times in academia where all you are thinking about is the "next thing". Finish the revision for this manuscript, proposal deadline due in three days, grant proposal due date coming this Friday, a consulting client is demanding another meeting, classes have started and you still need to organize and revise your course based on feedback from last semester, etc, etc, etc.

In short, the scholar might just have forgotten. If I were in their case, I would probably be a little embarrassed at my own forgetfulness, apologize, and then put a meeting (and reminder) in my outlook calendar. 

My suggestion is send a polite email with a reminder. Just a 

Hi Dr. So and So,

I worked for you in ____ project. We had discussed setting up a meeting for you helping me with _____. I wanted to see if you had time to meet now? If you are able, I can schedule a call about it.

Thanks,

Bleepgloop

I think this is a nice little reminder email that is not accusatory and would probably work well.