Oh no Jim, that was not what I meant at all, I was not implying that you nor was I bad mouthing the aftermarket guys. But from my discussions with Boston, they did a lot of research to solve this issue. I myself have dealt with this suspension message for quite some time. Its just that, it seems that the FIRST resistor you recommended worked. I say, bravo Jim!
It is not my intention here to bad-mouth the aftermarket folks. Boston (and others) were probably acting in good faith when they supplied a 12 Ohm, 50 Watt resistor for your model / year.
The problem is the 12 Ohm value given in the 1996 Service Manual is what an Ohmeter would display for a damper valve continuity check.
This entire ride control message discussion involves values of inductance, inductive reactance, and impedance. There is more electronic theory than most folks want to, or need to, know when they only want to replace struts or shocks.