Why didn't you SHOUT IT OUT LOUD!!??
I don't like to yell because I'm usually wrong.

Just a few thoughts, the Max232 chip inverts signal, if your using USB to serial adapter, that takes a non-inverted signal, so you may be inverting redundently. Also, have you tried OSC-Tune to adjust clock to good 115Kb, then you can use standard Xtal ?

Don