ATOMIC

iTrader: (1)

I have searched here, moates and on tunerpro.

I'm trying to scan my 1994 suburban and can't get tunerproRT V4, tunerproRT v5, or tts datamaster to connect.

the computer is stock, 16196395 BJLH

what i have tested;
the ses light flashes, on-off-on, when i turn the key to run.
i can read codes from a paperclip, shows code 12 ecu test. did show code 15, already fixed that.
checked continuity of the orange/black from ALDL pin M to f9 at the ecu.
voltage for the orange/black wire is 4.98v key on and 5.08v engine running. good.
voltage for the white/black wire is 5.03v key on and 5.12 engine running. also good.
i know the cable is good because it tests through both versions of tunerpro and ttsdatamaster.
i know the cable is working because i can read the ABS module data through tunerproRT v5. also i can read my fiero through winaldl.
i know my com ports are setup correct because, see above.

the cable itself is from aldlcables.com, about 7 years old. serial version.
i'm using a prolific pl2303 usb to serial adapter.

in rtv4 i tried $0d.ads, $31.ads and E6_ECM.ads with their matching xdfs. no connection.
in rtv5 i used A219_0E_31_v250.adx, A217_0D_v250.adx and A201_E6_v250.adx. no connection.

the truck runs like poop. idles bad, very rich, no power, revs easy in neutral, stumbles off the line under light throttle(that ones tps i think).

i can't think of anything else to test or check, only that i might have a bad ecu. datamaster says no ecu found and tunerpro just won't connect.
is there some trickery specific to THIS ecu that i don't know of?
there is next to no documentation on connection issues for any of these programs, so i'm definitely stuck.

i just now tried a 16197427 BJXL from a 95 and i get the same; connection failed, aldl not connected.

anyone have an answer on this?