OK....next shot in the dark.............. Platesolve2 , do you have the maximum number of regions available ?? and/or do you have a backup platesolver like Astrometry.net that takes over when the first one fails ??
I also notice you said twice AFTER you produced an image you pressed solve and sync. You don't need to produce an image BEFORE you press solve and sync ..........just slew somewhere in the night sky and press solve and sync ......preferably where there are lots of stars (and due east) .
whoops....just saw your update..........didn't realize you were using eqmod..........yeah, bet that was the problem....but still you don't have to slew to your TARGET to do a solve and sync, you are just syncing the scope to the sky so it knows where it is, therefore you should be able to slew anywhere and sync.