Reply to Ex-Serato DJ New to Traktor Scratch Pro

Even though I'm not new to using a timecoded vinyl setup to DJ, I seem to be having some real bad issues with my new TSP. (Ok, I got the Audio 8 off of Craigslist for cheap so it's not really "new" but you get the idea.)

Situation #1:
I'm having issues configuring the settings inside TSP to get any sound to output through the Audio8 to my mixer and out my speakers. I started tweaking the software settings (which in hindsight I shouldn't have done) hoping I could correct this issue. I noticed some drop outs (the numbers on the Audio8 on channels A + B would go red or wouldn't stay lit) at a gig last month. Now I can't get any sound at all.

When I revert my setup to my (don't laugh at me for this) old Torq Connectiv or go from my turntables straight to my mixer everything is ok. So I know the issue is with either the Audio8 or my input/output settings in TSP aren't what they should be. Do the Audio8 boxes have issues shorting out? Can I get a screenshot of the correct settings for a no-frills, no controller, simplified TSP set using vinyl control from somebody? Yes, I tried using the startup guide from NI, but it wasn't very clear to me how to configure the software settings. (SSL doesn't have such a wide range of options to tweak everything like TSP. Even as tech savvy as I consider myself to be, I'm lost and I need help. )

Situation #2:
I thought that adding a MIDI controller or three would be a good workaround for the above issue. I was wrong again. Since my issues getting audio through the Audio8 going from being temperamental to damn near defiant, I acquired: a new Akai APC 40 (floor model w/ no instructions or software), a used Hercules MP3 e2, and a set of Dicers I had already used with Serato before my SL3 box disappeared at a gig.

I have been reading and watching one tutorial after another trying to figure why I rarely get the MIDI indicator to light up on any of the .tsi files I've loaded for any of the 3 controllers I try to use. No levels register on the internal mixer at all. (Now I know the Dicer has no sound card. I know better to expect getting audio from that directly.)

Seems no matter what I do, nothing works the way it should. Since I noticed the NI website crash on Black Friday, I didn't call their tech support yet. My DJ setup is listed below.

2 Technics 1200s, Toshiba L505 w/ i3 and 4GB RAM, Vestax PMC280, B52 Matrix 1000 speakers, 1 frustrated DJ.

I have big plans that will really expand my creativity as a turntablist if I can dive deeper into some of the advanced MIDI control + vinyl control later, but I'm having a hard enough time with the basics. Can somebody please walk me through correcting these step by step?