DLL call made in VB6 from C

Ok, this is one of the references to the last question I was wrestling with ... I feel like I'm that close to getting it, but it just doesn't work. I used to try to compile a DLL in C and then call it from VB, but I realized that I actually don't want that (I want the program to be written in C, when using the VB interface, not as a program interface and using DLL functionality).

So now I am compiling the DLL to VB and trying to call it from C.exe.

"But wait, you can't compile a DLL with VB!" In fact , I intercepted the VB6.EXE call to the linker and added a definition file for the functions I want to export to it, and here are the best parts - if I copy the dll to system32 I can call the functions from another VB program and it works fine. The only thing is that I can't boot from C. Well I can and I get the handle and I get the address of the functions, it's just the program doesn't work.

Here's a dummy function I exported:

Public Function PopupMessage(ByVal rawr As Integer) As Integer
    Msgbox "HERE BE " & rawr & " DRAGON(S)."
    PopupMessage = 4
End Function

      

        
        
        
      

    

I can call it like this from another VB6 program:

Public Declare Function PopupMessage Lib "vbdll" _
    (ByVal howmanydragons As Integer) As Integer

Private Sub Command1_Click()
    If IsNumeric(Text1.Text) Then
        Text2.Text = PopupMessage(Text1.Text)
    End If 
End Sub

      

        
        
        
      

    

and from C:

int main(){
  typedef short int (*vbfun)(short int); //VB6 "Integer" is 16 bits
  vbfun popup_message;
  HANDLE dllhnd;
  dllhnd = LoadLibrary("vbdll.dll");
  if(dllhnd>(void*)HINSTANCE_ERROR){
    popup_message = (vbfun)GetProcAddress(dllhnd, "PopupMessage");
    printf("%d", popup_message(3));
  }
  return 0;
}

      

        
        
        
      

    

when i debug i find out i get an access violation which in the past meant i forgot ByVal in VB function and it was passing reference to 5 or something. But I don't see anything wrong here ... I am getting a ProcAddress from a DLL that matches the offset I get from dumpbin, I can call it from VB, but the caller C gets an access violation ...

Any ideas? Does anyone see what I have forgotten? I realize that I am doing something rather obscure and mostly unheard of, instead of just learning how to design an interface in C, but now I decided to fix it.