The programmable thermostat on my upstairs Comfortmaker heat pump has
started acting strangely. It's made by Totaline. In normal operation,
when it is being programmed, certain numbers or digits (temperature,
heat, cool) will flash to indicate which parameter is being set. After a
few seconds, the flashing stops to indicate that the control is no
longer in the programming mode. The problem with my unit is that it
sometimes continues to flash.

I've removed and restored power to the thermostat and to the heat pump
to try to reset the unit. Neither has helped. My guess is that the unit
is defective. (I cannot find a reset button.) The biggest problem is
that when a time-of-day setting is activated, such as changing the heat
from 69 to 72 degrees at 6:00AM, the heat does not kick in.

I cannot find a model number anywhere on the unit. It looks almost
exactly like the "Gold Programmable" on page 4 of the Totaline brochure
at http://www.totaline.com/dl/570-484.pdf, meaning that it may be a
Model P274. How can I find out which unit is the correct replacement? I
want to replace it myself. The heating and cooling stages don't mean a
lot to me. The heat side has emergency heat and normal heat (is that two
stages?) As far as I know, the cooling is only one cycle. Am I going to
have to get the model number of the heat pump to get the specs, or is
there another way to characterize the unit?