Printer communication error

I have had an Epson Stylus Pro 3800 running with my iMac which is still running on OS X 10.5.8. This printer has worked fine in the past. It had not been used for a while, maybe 2 months. When I tried to print again I got a communication error message telling me to check all connections etc...which of course I did. Everything is hooked up correctly. After restarting the computer and printer I still have gotten the same message. Thinking there may be a driver problem I removed the printer and re-installed the drivers. Now the computer wont even locate the printer! The drives are there, and the software has been installed correctly. But I am still not able to print......

Should I upgrade to Snow Leopard and start over? The printer has been checked and is fine. I hope someone out there in Appleland can help me!

Thanks

Jim