ArnieO wrote:There is no need to remove the Atmega328.
Just upload an empty sketch to the Arduino first, to ensure that it does not access the hardware serial bus.
Then connect Arduino pin 0 (Rx) to ESP8266 Rx, and Arduino pin 1 (Tx) to ESP8266 Tx. NB: Do not cross Tx/Rx like you would normally do, as the Rx (pin 0) is where the AT328 normally receives its signal so it will act as Tx towards the ESP - and vice versa for pin 1. )
It is strongly recommended to use a level shifter between Arduino pin 0 (0-5V) and ESP8266 (0-3,3V), or else you could kill the ESP.
Use an Arduino IDE Serial Monitor window to talk directly to the ESP.
This method worked!!! Thank you.