Look at the original plug what could be done. You have to start the link program first. If the lpt is not initialized by the link85xp.exe, it may initialized that you switch the calculator to ground. Check the diodes, perhaps they are gone. This is a question to you all.
Makeshifts have a long life.
I got the diodes and stuck all the wires in the port. I ran the test program and all the should be values were correct. I am sure that all the connections are correct and can't seem to figure out the problem. I used tiny alligator clips to clip onto the cable that came with the TI 85. I checked the cable and it worked fine.