First off, you do not program the transformer and the locomotive at the same time. Generally speaking, one and only one device should be in program mode at a time.
To me, it almost sounds like you want the ZW-L in 4 channel and conventional mode and you simply just lift the track handle to ~18VAC and let the CAB 1L speak to the locomotives directly... Once you get that working, we can graduate on to switching the ZW-L to command mode and letting you use the CAB 1L to remotely control the 4 channel throttle levers on the ZW-L.
