I hooked up the unit (honeywell rlv430 thermostat) (it had been in storage, in original packaging for 4 years) and get nothing appears after the power is turned back on. The wires are live (I checked that), is there someway to determine if the unit itself is bad or to reset it so it might work?

Here is a copy of your manual for that item.

Check wiring
Check for proper application and voltage.

http://customer.honeywell.com/techli.../69-1874ES.pdf