It isn't failing, it works just fine, and I am able to control the speed and such, but ultimately the arduino will be doing several other tasks. Using the "on,delay, off, delay..." sequence for my STEP input is simply not IDEAL because it is subject to interrupt. I need very smooth, and very precise output, like I said, on the order of 1 ml/hour from a syringe, which is around 48 micro steps a minute (at 1/8 step). This is very slow, and seemingly easy to control, but I cannot have any pulsing. I am trying to generate a very fine spray from the tip of a needle, so, in short, I am looking for a very clean and consistent STEP input, which is why I am looking to outsource this frequency cycle to a dedicated chip.
Does that make any sense, or was that a ramble?