I've also tried to flash using the EspFlash and nodeMCUFlash tools and I've also tried to talk to the board using the EsPlorer application. I've tried this with Arduino 1.6.12 and then downgraded to 1.6.5. I've tried the flash/reset button thing too to get it into flash mode.
So the card has the default AT firmware and none of the different flash profs or serial terms work. I do get a few garbage Characters on the term when I press the rest button. This tells me the 2 are physically talking to each other. I've tried all different baud rates so I have to conclude it's got to be the serial driver.
I've been using the cp2102 driver on windows 10. From the device manager it seems all is working fine.
Anyone else have success with a different driver?