Are you able to see the shared variables listed under the target using the Distributed System Manager? Depending on the type you may or may not be able to see the current value, but its presence alone will help tell you if it was properly deployed or not. Further, are you capturing errors when writing or reading from them? While the error codes aren't always super helpful they can lend some insight. Lastly, are you dropping the variables on the BD from the project to r/w or are you programmatically addressing them and utilizing the shared variable vis to communicate with them? The latter option, while not as convenient, seems to be more robust, scalable, and gives you the most insight into the activity or errors there.