for what its worth

this works for me
Code:
sda VAR PORTA.1
scl VAR PORTA.2
trisa.5=0
'  pause 2000
'    Debug "Start",13 ,10
addr var byte ;mcp control address
reg var byte  ;mcp register
da var byte   ;gpioa data
da=$f8
addr = $40
reg=0
I2CWRITE SDA,SCL,addr,reg,[$00] 'set gpioa all output
reg=9
LOOOP:
I2CWRITE SDA,SCL,addr,reg,[da]
pause 500
da=da+1
GOTO LOOOP