Number boards flash, that makes me think they are direct wired to the rails.
If so, and the test would be that you can't turn them off, that could
interfere with readback. The other test would be making sure all the
functions are off before moving to the programming track. Some decoders try
to retain settings and that could also confuse things as it draws power.
-Ken Cameron, Member JMRI Dev Team
www.jmri.org
www.fingerlakeslivesteamers.org
www.cnymod.com
www.syracusemodelrr.org
Ken Cameron