thanks lift-tech, i was leaning towards replacing the spu link also, but something about the car not running on inspection bothered me. I looked at the actual error codes, and was getting a code that said there was a problem with the door and and gate lock bypass circuit. the input module for the door and gate lock bypass was defective. Just so you know, if you ever see OVERLOAD on the diagnostic screen it doesn't necessarily mean overload condition literally, it is a generic display, that indicates some kind of abnormality with the inputs to the system.