Rick, I just recently evaluated that new Atlas E24 board. The E24 connector is there to accept a decoder. No lies.
You are just likely frustrated with this experience.
E24 DCC connector interface was introduced by ESU, and they have been making decoder for it for probably over 2 years. But those were all LokSound decoders. It is true that non-sound decoder (ESU 59925 LokPilot) has only recently become available. Digitrax has also just produced a decoder with the E24 connector. I heard that more manufacturers are jumping on the E24 bandwagon.
While that connector is rather small and very low-profile (perfect for tight installs in smaller scale models), I never found installing a decoder to be problematic or difficult. But gentle touch is needed.
As I see it, Atlas made a good choice using the E24 connector in their models. You can buy a DC loco and simply by removing the dummy plug you can make it a silent DCC or sound DCC loco. It is 100% plug-and-play, since even a speaker is already installed.
Yes, due to the small size of the E24 connector and very little vertical clearance under the light board, you do have to loosen couple of screws and snap the decoder on, but that still sure beats doing a complete wire-in decoder install.
You were not clear as to whether you installed the 59925 decoder on all 3 of your locos and they all have some issues. If they all have problems than I doubt it is caused by either a faulty decoder or faulty light board.
I'm confused by your "cab light only" statement There is no cab light on that board. There are only 2 LEDs on-board: front and rear headlights.
I also assume you first tested them on DC (with the original "dummy" DC E24 plug installed), and they all ran fine (motor and headlights were working as expected). If not, then the models themselves (not the decoders) would have been problematic. If you don't have a DC throttle, just take a standard fresh 9V battery and touch its' terminals to the loco's wheels and observe its motor and lights behavior. That is a good substitute for a DC throttle. Or you can place the loco on a piece of track on your workbench and touch the battery terminals to the track.
Whether you have tested them on DC or not, first troubleshooting step I recommend is to reinstall the DC "dummy" plug and test them on DC. If the motor and lights work correctly that verifies that the light board inside the model (including the E24 connector) is working correctly.
You might also want to clean the wheels when the model is still set up for DC. Yes, these are factory-fresh locos, but I have seen the wheel blackening or some oil/grease on treads cause conductivity issues, even in new locos. Cleaning the wheels will eliminate that possible problem.
If that's the case, reinstall the LokSound decoder, then let's go back to basics. Instead of using DecoderPro, just put it on your command station's programming track and reset the decoder by writing 8 to CV8. Then tilt the loco for couple of seconds to disconnect one set of wheels from the track (not needed, but won't hurt to do). After this you should be able to address and run the loco using short address 3. It should also have the standard directional headlights turned on by F0 button on the throttle. Just like any other brand of DCC decoder.
Also, what brand of DCC system are you using? Since this is a non-sound decoder, you should have no problems reading and writing any of the standard CVs in the decoder (CV 1-6 and CV29 for example). No need for LokProgrammer for any of this.
Report your findings after the above procedure.
