I am trying to program a 10F pic for the first time, and I can't get it to work. I am using an imitation PICSTART PLUS programmer via MPLAB IDE v8.00, and I have set up a breadboard to alter the pin arrangement. I have an 8-pin DIP package with VDD in the Picstart ZIF at pin 1, Vpp (MCLR) at pin 4, Vss at pin 40, GP0 (data pin) at pin 39, GP1 (clock pin) at pin 38, and GP2 at pin 37. I've tested all connections, and using a couple of LEDs, I've verified that the data and clock pins are going high and low as expected (the leds dim and flicker).

The result is always a long list of program memory errors and some configuration memory errors, one of which is code protection (the programmer says it is on even on a brand new PIC). Read and Verify commands return a bunch of zeros. So it looks like nothing is being written or read. The erase command claims success, but changes nothing.

I've double checked that the correct device is selected, and I've tinkered with configuration bits and different hex codes. So I am at a loss. Maybe I need a new programmer? Any ideas about what could be going wrong or how to make it work? Any recommendations for different programming devices?