yes, that was it - long lines. I had to write 'beyond' the end of one line to have it show up on the other line. that was the trick.
so, are yours graphic and not char cell, then?
I have not spent any time on the non-hd44780 non-graphic displays.
fwiw, this is my new fave cheap color display, costing about $5 from china:
http://www.amazon.com/HiLetgo-Display-Module-128X160-Socket/dp/B00LSG51MMhow I'm using it right now:
its not super fast, but its got good arduino libr support already and I love having 'easy' color and graphics for simple low-cost projects. its not oled, so it has no lifetime wear issues and uses simple hardware spi for interfacing, so its actually less pins than many other displays need.
if you really need help on the displays you have, though, I could try to help out if you want. I have some time on my hands (I'm between jobs right now...) and I'm in the SF bay area.