Emu XL-7 & MP-7 User's Group

OK please bear with me for a minute while I describe my setup!!
I am trying to sequence my Virus with the XL7.  The XL7, Virus and 
other gear are hooked up to my PC running Cubase SX with a Midex 8 
midi interface.  I don't want to hook the XL7 directly up to the 
inputs on the Virus as I send other midi data to it from SX.
So, I have created a template SX project with 16 midi tracks, each 
with an input transformer so they only recieve midi data on the 
correct channel, and each track has 'monitor' enabled.  I set up the 
XL7 to respond to song start/stop and the tempo to 0(ext).  Each XL7 
track is set to ext only.
I hit record on the XL7 and play in SX and recording starts on the 
XL7.  This is where my problems start!  The Virus all of sudden stops 
producing sound (although it still shows a note icon indicating midi 
input).  I have to shut the Virus off and power it back up to hear 
anything.  
Any ideas?  It is as if the XL7 seq is turning the Virus volume to 
zero.
I suppose a better way to do this would be to purchase a midi merge 
box and have both midex and XL7 midi input to the Virus and bypass 
Cubase altogether.  However, I was hoping that I could use the XL7 in 
this same manner to control all my other gear through the Midex, but 
still use Cubase for editing sequences.

Sorry for the long post.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.
-Justin.