2x2 rib problem and edge weights

Today, I started knitting the Mary Weaver project that I told you about yesterday and, I had some problems:
It all started at the cast-on, I set the needles, attach the comb with the weights, and start knitting, the stitches on the main machine weren't knitting properly, in fact the groups of two needles would knit as if the were one needle, so what I had was a 1x1 rib with extra loose stitches!
I really don't know how many failed attempts I've made, changing something here and there, but I had the same and exact thing every single time.
But suddenly, I had this thought, one of those that come unexpectedly, I thought: This pattern comes from the Mary Weaver - ribbing attachment book, so since the book is about the ribber, it should say something about my problem, and so it did.
It said that after you set the machine with 2 stitches on main bed and 2 stitches on the ribber, you have to move the swing lever in a certain way so the stitches would knit properly without the two needles working as if they were one.
Can you believe it! It worked! so I start knitting and I had to knit 80 rows, I was about half way there and I realised that the first needles and the beginning and at the end of the row, weren't knitting, they weren't catching the yarn, I thought that the needles were broken, but it wasn't that because it didn't happen all the time.
So my thought is maybe if I put the side weights, (edge weights) on, would that help?
I'm not going to try this evening, I'm going to try tomorrow and I'll tell what happened.....

Bye for now.

Samantha