I assume you're using the 5-pin DIN connector in the 18i8. MIDI data is MIDI data, it shouldn't matter how old the device is that generates it. If the preferences and settings are correct in sONAR and you still get no joy, it might be something else together, like a bad cable, something misset with the Oxygen itself, or the Oxygen might have chosen a coincidental time to die.
Try using the Oxygen MIDI out and the same cable with a synth or other MIDI device and see if it responds.