Hmmm, the fact that you cached the particles and it still didnt work surprises me a bit, as that is usualy the LAST step in troubleshooting.

Also with the file being v2008 is going to be a problem for me, as I only have that version at work.

So, how complex is the shot?
Is it something we can recreate from scratch for ya maybe?

Just throwin out ideas

But man, thats REALLY weird that it didnt render after caching it.
(as thats the final troubleshooting step that Autodesk support will tell you to do as well, hehe)

Anyhoo, can you attach, or PM-me your file anyway so I can take a look?

Thanks