We have used a Qbot system for 3 years now, and in our honest opinion it was the worst investment we made for our shop. We have had NUMEROUS troubles with it from the start. The master control has been replaced three times now, mostly because the press pad on the front of the control malfuntions. We have been told they no longer make the Qbot system also. From what I interpret from your description, as far as it "going through the motions" but the machine not sewing, on some machines when using the Qbot, if the presser foot lever is in the "UP" position, the machine will not sew when you press "go" on the Qbot. As to it starting from the right instead of the left, some machines require you to go into the "Settings" on the Qbot control, and change the X and Y axis settings. We had to change our settings for our machine from +1 to -1, or vica versa. I would recomend talking to Liten Up Technologies Inc. in Lake Forest Illinois (847-918-8270). They have a tech support that can advise you as to what to do, and whether your machine is compatible with the Qbot, or if you'll need to get a different Stitch regulator compatible for your machine and the Qbot. The BIG question will be how much they will charge you for a new stitch regulator if you need it.