MIcrochip PICKIT 4 Not the Problem

I use the Tag-Connect 6 pin connector with Pogo Pins.  Very small footprint.  It appears that the one I have been using for a long while is now flaky, which is why the PICKIT 4 would not connect.  I had another one, but it only had an RJ-11 connector, so I went digging for my ICD3.  Fortunately the ICD3 will do at least two of the four processors I have chosen.  So I thought I would look at buying an ICD4, just to be current.  Well it is EOL, happened back in late September.  The forums seem to indicate they could not build any more, no parts.  In particular no FPGAs are available at an acceptable price.  So that leaves an ICE4 @ $1800 or PICkit4 which I have.  I just might have to buy another PICKIT 4 for insurance purposes.  I did look on Ebay for an ICD4, none to be found and the Asian market wants $1950.  Digikey, Mouser, Newark, etc have all pulled the listing as obsolete.  The Microchip website claims they will continue to update the programmer.  This has only solved my connection problem, the BOR problem still exists as does the debugger resetting when in debug mode.

For older PICs, theICD3 and PICKIT 3 are adequate, not as many breakpoints, but otherwise mostly equivalent.   ICD3 and PICkit3 are not getting any new PICs added to them, so these two will only be the older PICs going forward.  Ends up being the two most likely candidates, PIC16F18326 and PIC16F18426, are old enough that ICD3 and PICkit3 will work on them.  The only issue that will push me to the other two PICs (PIC18F06Q40 and PIC18F06Q41) will be execution speed.  The PIC16F runs at 32MHz and the PIC18F runs at 64MHz.  PIC power is not the issue here, with 6 LEDs running at 25mA each. The power difference is 3mA vs 13mA.  So 10mA increase which leads to 153mA vs 163mA in total power, 6.5%.  I can live with that.  And if the LEDs use less current, say 5mA each,  Then its 33mA vs 43mA, 30% increase.  But the total power is down 73%.  All good.

Tomorrow I am going to try and track down the Brown Out Reset issue, because now I am convinced that is also resetting the PICkit/ICD in debug mode.