Running my pololu programmer from the ide is giving me a content mismatch but i bet that's my fingers
I sometimes get a similar error when there's too much load on a pin (a piezo is my source of pain). Programming works. Verifying doesn't. I have no idea why one would work but not the other. If there's nothing else connected to the processor, my Pololu has been very reliable.
My problem was simpler - the programmer ground wasn't connected!
The pololu is great except that it's not set up to power the target. I think for the most arduino-like experience you'd want a programmer that would at least optionally provide target power without a lot of fuss.