[cctalk] MicroVAX-II to Linux communications (minicom)

I am trying to get my old VMS system going for demo at VCFMW. I got a USB-serial adapter, and it mostly works OK.  I am using minicom, and trying to get the Emulex firmware resident diagnostics loaded on the uVAX.  This requires entering a BUNCH of ODT commands.  I tried to put these in a file, and then do an ASCII send file command in minicom, but it gets garbled.  I assumed that minicom was sending too fast, so put in a bunch of delays on each character and on linefeed.  I did this in the T (terminal) menu.  I can clearly see these delays work when typing on the keyboard, but they DON'T seem to work when sending the file, as the file send doesn't take any longer to complete.  Is there another place to set delays that is effective for ASCII send? Also, minicom doesn't seem to save these terminal (T) settings when restarted. Should I be using a different program? Thanks for any advice! Jon