Argh!!!

I have been trying to fix the regulator on the bathtub in the upstairs bathroom tonight. I didn’t use it for over ten years (The upstairs was never finished until a couple of years ago and even then no one ever used the shower because no one used the spare bedroom.) and this spring when I went to use it, it didn’t work. So I took it apart, greased the seals and then put it back together, well then it didn’t turn off! Tonight I stopped by a plumbing supply store and bought a new regulator. Following the lousy instructions I installed it and the water still doesn’t turn off! I tried several different ways of installing it and the results were still the same. Six times I ran downstairs to the basement to turn on the water, run upstairs to the second floor to see if it worked, back down to turn-it off and back up stairs to try something different.
I’m beat! I give up! It’s time to call a plumber and spend a couple of hundred dollars!