Hi Bill

Thanks a million for the informative response and advice :-)
Here is my reply to your examination :
1.Damn, just my luck ! Nice to hear you came right though :-0
2.I wouldn't mind using either have those but found issues with serout2 and the data displayed in hyperterminal so used serout.
What are your thoughts on using DEBUG ?
3.I did notice in reading through other forum posts and the manual that DEFINES are required.
4.I was thinking of doing exactly the same thing just to remove also possible room for error :-)
5. No I do not have carriage returns at the end of each transmission are you referring to 10,13 at the end of serout ?
I was under the notion that I could just SEROUT ping and port at 2400T and the variable name all in a loop.... is this where my problem is...apart from being a little rusty and having to re-live been a PIC newbie again ?
6.TRISX is a very secret register which you enable my moving the shift in the time space continum on a PIC 18f4520 ....:-) lol just kidding.
OK jokes aside TRISX is the comment I placed there so that I could remember how to manipulate TRIS for IO.
7. Sequencing is correct ...just realised I have not added the connection diagram :-( will add it to this post now.
I am sending from PIC 16f887 PIC 18F4520
PORTC.6(TX)-----PORTC.7(RX)
PORTC.7(RX)-----PORTC.6(TX)
so it's PIC16F887 >>PIC18F4520 >>PC(hyperterminal)
out in | out
TX RX | TX
|
LCD IS HERE (wired to 18F4520)
Once again ...where are the CR's and where should they go exaclty ?
8.The only place there is a MAX232N is on the TX side of the 18F4520 so that is can connect to PC serial port, in which case I am able to send and receive data to and from the PC :-)

Hope this helps , will post more info just now to make it simpler to read ;-)
Any more info would be much appreciated.

Kind regards
Dennis