2000 cougar will not start

have 2000 cougar dash lights come on but engine does not turn over
no sound silent, placed finger on igniton relay felt the contacts pull, tried jumping battery same problem, tried hitting starter with hammer same problem, looked in manual found maybe problem with security, noticed that security light flashes rapidly then intermittantly after 1 minute manual states "system did not recognize key code
remove key and try again" is it possible the key for some reason no longer works or is there a malfunction in the PATS itself ?
is there some other check i can do myself before buying a new key or taking it to the dealer for them to troubleshoot?

My 99 cougar won't start either it has the same security light symptoms.

The starter will turn over with a screwdriver so I'm guessing its a key problem like the owners manual says.

have 2000 cougar dash lights come on but engine does not turn over
no sound silent, placed finger on igniton relay felt the contacts pull, tried jumping battery same problem, tried hitting starter with hammer same problem, looked in manual found maybe problem with security, noticed that security light flashes rapidly then intermittantly after 1 minute manual states "system did not recognize key code
remove key and try again" is it possible the key for some reason no longer works or is there a malfunction in the PATS itself ?
is there some other check i can do myself before buying a new key or taking it to the dealer for them to troubleshoot?

is this the that came with the car? if you had one made at a hardware store it WILL NOT WORK (it will work the doors only)