RE: Sharp and NEC MMC chips -
The Sharp MMCs always managed to work, even on games that have been reported as not working...the NECs not so much. In the example of NES Open Golf - I replaced the NEC with a Sharp and got NTRQ to work. I even burned the game back onto an EPROM to test the soldering, and it worked, so I'm convinced it's the MMC.
RE: PR8 -
I can get it to start/play around for a bit, but it *will* crash after a few minutes of use.
RE: Pulsar -
I use the same method as PR8, but it runs corrupt and is basically unusable.
RE: Reset -
Pushing reset basically fucks everything up no matter what on PR8/Pulsar. It's almost as though it doesn't fully clear any leftover data.
I've tested various boards, EPROMs, burns, systems, weekdays, batteries and alignments of planetary bodies. No solid answer.