i know it isnt right but might be worth a shot is opening up the connectors. if there the bullet style ones take something with a point and push into them so them open up a little or if there the flat connectors take some needle nose and give them a little twist. this will give it a better connection if they dont have a very good one to begin with. i do this to alot of stuff and works great but dont know if you want to try it on a programmer. i wouldnt think it would hurt anything.

 

My chip was made in 2002 and they said they won't repair anything older than 2005 because they used some type of glue to seal them. And I will give that a shot wirtzy.