When you get a text message, do you hear any notification sound from VPilot? It should be a short static sound. If you are tuned into a live frequency, and there are lots of aircraft around, do you see the RX button highlight at all? That indicates you are receiving audio transmissions. Lastly, I would strongly suggest picking up a headset (there are several good quality ones for around $20-30) so you can check if you can transmit. Another thing we could do is coordinate with another Vatsim user and you could start a session with that person to try and communicate via 122.8.