EDIT: To save everyone the trouble who runs across this post posting the TL;DR version.
- Couldn't get older macs to boot to a 10.8 NBI or 10.9 NBI on a Yosemite Host running Server v4 unless the NBI I'm using is 10.10. My old macs can't boot or install 10.10 so they weren't booting. Newer macs booting 10.10 fine.
- Tried AutoCasperNBI, tried Casper NetInstall Image Creator, tried AutoDMG, tried building from scratch an image of a Macbook Pro, tried building from scratch an image of an old original Mac, tried wiping clients folder, tried making sure it was the only NBI in the folder, tried PRAM resets on boot, tried everything I could think of.
@pblake][/url found the fix for me. I installed Server v3.2.1 on a Macbook Pro running 10.9.5 then was able to boot a 10.9 NBI on old and new machines. I can also boot 10.8 NBIs now.
So for now I will run this 10.9 macbook pro and never update it for imaging anything older than 10.10. I will also run the 10.10 server for anything newer that I will be installing 10.10 on.
Not sure if I'm the only person running a 10.10 server imaging 10.8 macs or not, but I would advise against it after the 30+ hours I just wasted. Unfortunately new macbooks are shipping with 10.10 so if you are in the same boat as me I suggest finding an older mac to build into a server to get by.