thoughts on troubleshooting a "not in sync" issue

I'm using my Arduino Duemillanove to upload code into ATmega328p-pu chips, but now I'm running into the error, "avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00".

I first ran into the problem when I purchased some chips without a bootloader. I've double checked all my settings and know they are correct. I couldn't get the bootloader to work.
Next, I decided to buy a chip with the bootloader already installed. Only with this chip, it wouldn't accept a code upload without giving the same error.

One might think there is an error with my usb connection or the arduino, so I put in an old chip that I've been using and EVERYTHING works fine! Does anybody have any idea what the problem is? I also know it's not the chip model, they are all the same versions I mentioned before (unless there's chip speed difference, all the new one's I've purchased have a "1350" listed on them.

any suggestions would help.
Thanks