[Mark McLeod]

The motor Safety is because something is slowing down the cRIO program or the communication packets.
You can run without the Safety if your controls remain responsive. If however you are experiencing any lag, then it becomes a higher priority to track down the cause for the slow down.

The flickering orange/no lights pretty much describe a calibration issue.

On the Dashboard there is a display with a green dot showing one of the joysticks movements. Does that green dot go all the way up or down when you push the joystick all the way forward/back?

And is the green dot centered when the joystick is at neutral?