Yeah that last link zborgerd was my post on the e2e site. Yes, it was a firm ware update. So, apparently crossing the vcc into the tx pins instead of crossing the rx tx is not a good thing to do on the Rev 1.4 board. The good news is the new Rev. 1.5 board won't have that issue anymore. Oh well, it was only a $9.99 mistake, that is actually quite cheap for me.