The issue is somewhat resolved.
The daughter-board 7i76 has a damaged hm2_5i25.0.stepgen.00. so by changing all hm2_5i25.0.stepgen.00 to hm2_5i25.0.stepgen.04 and changing num_stepgens=4 to =5 the system now works OK. Do not increment the JOINT numbers as I tried, just more problems.
A big thank you to PCW, all rest of you and to Peter from MESA Tech Support for all the assistance. Hopefully I can get this puppy making parts soon.
