This is a pretty sad tale, but it happens when dealing with cars that have been molested. I tend to agree with Chuck that putting stuff in the ignition lock is going to mess up the key reader contacts.
A legit dealership won't be too eager to bypass the VATS system, it can cause them all sorts of headaches should the car been stolen, or some other problems develop because of it.
However that being said, the VATS can be deleted from the PCM firmware, but will take someone familiar with one of the various editing/tuning programs. The common VATS bypass which straps a resistor across the VATS sensing leads, does not really bypass VATS but keeps the VATS module happy so that it keeps sending a good signal to the PCM, so that the PCM allows engine to crank and the injectors to fire. If the VATS module fails it will need to be replaced, and bypassing the key will not help. There are replacement modules on the market that will always send the proper signal to the PCM regardless of what is going on, and there are plans floating about the web on how to build a home made one.

 

Putting stuff in the ignition switch may be the culprit but again...it was one of you guys on here who recommended doing it. I tried to link to the original post but it doesn't go that far back.

The guy who has the car doesn't want to bypass anything. He only wants to have it reprogrammed which I assume must have something to do with putting a wiring harness in. I have no clue.

 

Wasn't me!
A lube may or may not mess it up right away, but it does leave a sticky film that dust and dirt just loves to stick to.

 

We have an update. Last Thursday I sent a local tow truck to steal my car back. $85 later, she was in a proper shop. The guy who had it for 4 months and 1 day didn't even TOUCH the car. Well he may have but the only thing you could tell that was touched was the missing stereo.

The guys who have it now used to run the shop of our Chevy dealer that closed down about 3 years ago. They are some great guys that REALLY know what they are doing. Within 2 hours the car was cranked. Turned out to be in the wiring. There was 3 grounds not grounded. So I had them attempt to replace the window motor in the drivers door. Turns out hasn't been an easy task at all. They got it to go down but not back up. Upon touching the fuse box under the hood, they discovered it was bad loose and when it was in a certain position, the door would work but then so was a lot of other things in the car. So now they are focusing on that fuse box for a while. In a nut shell, that's what's going on.

 

Glad to hear things finally came around. I wonder if the other guy noticed you stole the car back.

 

I would send the police to ask him where the Stereo is. You don't need to get into a lot of detail with the cops only he was suppost to be fixing your car and didn't with his history I imagine the cops are not going to be real nice and if he does not have a buisness license and insurance they can give him a real hard time.

Now if he is all legal and you signed a work order you could be introuble for towing the car off the property. We had a customer drive off the lot once after a dispute over a charge. the Manager called the cops and showed them the signed work order. 2 hours later the cops pulled up the the guy in cuffs in the back seat and the location of the car so we could go get. The customer worked it out with the owner. I not say you you did not have a right to take your car just that maybe you should have let the cops know upfront.