Hi Trooble,
If your steppers rotate freely, that indicates that the stepper drives are not operational or they have their "enable" signals (actually "disable") set high. The controller unit doesn't necessarily have anything to do with this. What stepper drives do you use and how have you connected them? If you have connected the drive "enable" inputs to the controller, try disconnecting them first. For example, on a typical "DM542A" or "new TB6600" type single-motor drives the enable input doesn't need to be connected, unless you want to power down the motor windings for some reason while the system is powered on.
The SMC4-4 controller is not quite bad for the price, although it's not as good as the alternatives twice as expensive. Should be good enough for a basic 6040 setup.