Model years 94 and up need to go to the dealer to have the codes read. Is the display showing that air is supposed to be directed to the floor or dash vents but it's coming out the defrost instead? This might indicate a disconnected vacuum line. If there is no vacuum to the system it defaults to defrost. The most likely place for a disconnected line is at the vacuum reservoir.
The reservoir is the black kinda "T" shaped box to the left of the the master cylinder. I do not have a 96 service manual so I don't know if a vacuum loss will cause a system error (blinking display) or not.