Noteout and notein (or midiout and midin) question

Why can't I generate midi messages with noteout and then capture them with notein? Same with midiout and midin. The reason why I ask is because I'm trying to create a virtual midi controller (using the generic qwerty keyboard) that outputs to a kslider. But beyond that, I can't even create any noticeable feedback from anything except makenote, which I can't use because the duration is not set. Please help :)

PS. I included a maxpat file which demonstrates essentially what I'm trying to do. I took those bits from the midiin and midiout help patchers, yet they do not work in tandem... Nothing ever prints!