Taig Lathe conversion to LinuxCNC: M3 is not turning on spindle

I am moving away from Mach3 (yay!) and created a StepConfig from the Mach3 XML file. I had to tweak some settings, but in the end the X and Z axis are moving properly. On the pin configuration I had to add the ESTOP OUT pin, which is working now. However, M3 is not turning on the spindle. With a scope and while using Mach3 I figured out that the spindle turns on when pin 16 goes HIGH. The spindle doesn't use PWM, it's just single speed. So, in the parallel port pin setup I tried Spindle ON, Spindle CW and Spindle CCW for  pin 16, but nothing happens when I issue M3 on the MDI or when I run a simple GCode program. On the scope, I don't  see the pin change logic level when I issue an M3 command. I also tried to set Mist Coolant on the pin but M7 doesn't do anything either.

The parallel port is set in OUT mode. As far as I understand, that makes pin 16 an output from the PC to the lathe. I have 3 parallel ports on the PC and I tried them all with the same result, thinking that maybe pin 16 was unresponsive on the first port.

I'm on LinuxCNC 2.9 and I am attaching my HAL file if that helps. 

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

Thank you Aciera!! M3 is working now with the HAL line you suggested.

Is this something that could have been done from StepConfig? Or do I have to edit the hal file manually?

Thanks again for your very prompt help.