Nope, still wasn't machine mode. I had tried that, in case I was stuck on stupid. Turns out my ignorance was worse than that...but i figured it out. I had my control unit and mill powered down which sends an emergency stop to Mach, and so I've learned now you cannot zero any axis in that condition. 1 more lesson learned, 9999999 to go...
thanks for the suggestion, it is appreciated.