Remember that the Tailgater does not send out any messages. You are just seeing messages from the receiver and that's just what Dish programmed their receivers to say when the receiver is not seeing a signal (the searching message confuses many portable antenna users).
Do you get the setup screen when you hook it all up? Have you tried clearing the check switch before connecting to the Tailgater? Do you hear movement once you connect? Are you using a 211 or 411 receiver? Do you use this at home when you are not using the Tailgater?