Have you tried connecting directly to the card? You'll need a cross-over cable if connecting a pc directly. Anytime the VMI programmer takes more than a second or two to connect, a poor or non-existent connection is the culprit, It could possibly be a bad connection on the card. I have seen that a time or two. Check your physical connections.

Sometimes the thoughts in my head get so bored, they go for a stroll through my mouth. This is rarely a good thing.