Holly, I'm assuming that you're running Windows XP?
In the tech notes for the game on another site, I found this tip:
A slowdown utility *must* be used to run the game-- otherwise you will get a faulty "888.pal not found" error
This could be your problem. I played Ecoquest using pure Dos (as I've Windows 98) and didn't have any problems or need for a slowdown utility. I did a google search and came up with a program called Mo So. I'm not sure how it works as I've never needed to use such a program. You might like to give it a go. Here's the link to the download page: (it's a free program)
http://www.hpaa.com/moslo/basic.asp
Good luck!