Try disconnecting and re-connecting the USB end. The FTDI cable should be recognized by your computer regardless of whether anything is connected to the serial end.
OK, I tried using the monochron's processor on the Arduino PCB and it doesn't work either (neither pin 15 or any others). So I guess the problem is the processor. Is it possible I was sent a defective one?
Given that the display and other functions work, I don't think it is a bad processor. Looking closer at the design files, I see that the Monochron's processor clock is configured differently than the Arduino's. That explains why a direct swap doesn't work.
So, if the processor is fine and the sensor works on the Arduino, it sounds, to me, like it's a software difference between the Arduino and the monochron that is causing this not to work. Does that sound right? Is that possible?
Looking at the code, all the timing is done with millis(), delay() and delaymicrosecond(). These should work as long as the correct clock frequency is specified in the boards.txt file for the Monochron.
The other thing to check is the pin mappings in pins_arduino.c. Make sure that pin 24 is mapped the same as the Arduino.
That is what it looks like. But it is possible there may be other, less obvious timing dependencies in there.
Could you take a quick look to see if I made the correct modifications?
Unfortunately, we can't realistically get involved with debugging modifications to unsupported code. You might try contacting the people that developed the Arduino port of the Monochron.