Some good news

I switched the TX and the RX on my USB programmer and it started working again. I have the mini testing voltage through one of the analog pins. I have to play with the static resistance to get a wider range of readings. With a 10K resistor many things cap out at 255 and I have one been able to get 4 different readings. I have many more resistors at my apartment and will play with those tonight. Hopefully I will have a model done late tonight as well. I will try the XBee with the switched RX and TX as well.