I have used a pencil several times and even taped a tiny piece of aluminum to close the jumper. I cannot for the life of me to get into programming mode. 2 long toggle-4 short-2 long. I did this all in momentary and full press and nothing
It's not really 2-4-2. That is a poor descriptor.
I am going to use the terms "tap", "pause", and "hold".
While you are programming, NEVER click/press the switch hard enough to latch it to a full on position. The "tap" is just a hard enough press to give you a momentary flash of light. So when you "tap", the light flashes and you release completely. A "pause" is a long enough off period that the second "tap" does not go to the next output level, but rather comes back on in the lowest level (or whatever level you started in if your light has memory enabled). A pause is maybe 1.5 seconds. A "hold" would be a tap that maintains momentary on, but does not go so far as to latch the clicky switch. So a hold is just what you do if you pressed the button enough to keep the light on, but it would go off if you let go. So with that out of the way…
The sequence would better be described as 2-5-2
From off:
Tap, Pause, Tap, Pause, Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap,Tap, Pause
Tap, Pause, Tap+Hold
Do not let go of your Hold!
When you hold, you will see a strobe/flash, then a series of slow blinks, then a series of faster blinks, then another strobe/flash, then a high out put, then a low out put. Then the light will turn off.
If you tap+hold again, it will repeat the same sequence. It will continue the exact same sequence every time you tap+hold. During this time, you are in programming level 1.
If you "tap" one time (not a tap+hold), and do not let the sequence complete, you advanced to level 2. Another tap will go to level 3, and so on until you run out of programming groups.
So if you stayed in programming group 2, you will now see those same flashes/strobes, followed by a different series of slow blinks and fast blinks, then the strobe, then the high, then the low, then off.
I'd wager you will see the strobe, then 2 blinks, then 1 blink again, then strobe, then high, then low. Those first 2 blinks identify the mode group you are working in (group 2). That second single blink tells you the current setting of that mode group (in this case, setting 1- persistent). That high and low you see after the second strobe are your opportunities to go up one setting (release your hold during the "high") or down one setting (release your hold during the low). You can only go one step at a time.
While in programming, a series of rapid taps after a sequence will exit programming menu.