Not sure what you are using to drive your stepper motor but have you seen these?
http://www.oceancontrols.com.au/SMC-020.html
Basically needs an input for direction and another (pulse) to step the motor. Accommodates various stepper motors and you can also change the micro steps, sleep etc. I have an older one with less versatility but I haven't used it as I can't program. Always thought that it would be easy for someone in the know as you really only need 2 inputs. Cheap too but I notice they are currently out of stock.
Neale.