Thanks for all the info and sorry for the long delay. I was able to drive the steppers perfectly without issue with that setup. instead of having it based on position I went just with a simple on/off and a controller because the arm realy has no real use, more just a play thing. currently I control 4 out of the six motors but I think the issue is with the controllers themselves.
you seem pretty familiar with these, did you used to work with them? and if so, are they very difficult to fix/replace? also is h