Thanks for your prompt and helpful response. Swapped the ports and same problem so presumably my motherboard parallel port will not accept input on 2-9.
However, through trial and error, Pins 10 (ack), 11 (busy), 12 (paper out) and 13 (select) all work as input on the PCI card. Since 4 inputs are more than I need. Problem solved.
Cheers.