Brother dcp-7020 can't scan and get cc027 error

Question

i have never been able to scan. prints ok even though the brother diagnostics say 'failed'. did previously get cc031. downloaded patch from brother and now have cc027.

i have reimaged my pc so i know there is no 'residual' registry entries or 'bad' dll's. loaded drivers from scratch.

tried using cd that came with the printer and also downloaded drivers from brother. in fact i had worse problems when i used the download wizard from brother so i went back to the cd that came with the printer. i did see wqhl drivers on the brother site and i downloaded them. but i can't get them recognized when i try to install those drivers instead.

confused? i sure am.

scan button on the 7020 just says 'connecting to pc' and hangs.

papersoft module does see wia and tw devices but when i hit the scan button i get a popup that says there is an error. not much help there.