..OK, all your network devices works at 2400 baud. First question: did you put the two 620 ohms resistors on the head and tail of your network? Remember that you need to connect a pullup on channel A and a pulldown on channel B at the extreme of your network.

Next remove the "pace" value form your code. Between placing high portE.0 and the serout comand, place a 2 - 5 milliseconds delay using "PAUSE 5"

Cheers

Al.