I believe that the link used between calculators is not straight-up TTL/RS-232. IIRC, it is more complex than that.
I would recomend asking for info on a more dedicated forum for the TI link interface. I know
Cemetech is a group of some serious TI-8x fans. (There's a
Calculator hardware forum even.)
You can use one of the old black/gray links, which will go to RS-232. Still doesn't help with the protocol, though.