how did you build a mind-muscle connection with your lats?

i have a generally great mind-muscle connection with most of my muscles but i just can't seem to do it with my lats.

the only muscle i cannot get sore is my lats; i have felt pain in that area only after bench pressing but i'm told that it's another muscle in that region, not the lats themselves.

i've tried all kinds of rows with barbells and dumbells and a home cable setup. i don't have access to a pulldown machine but i try to duplicate it with a custom cable setup that is fairly close.

my form seems fine. i can take my arms almost completely out of the movement, but other parts of my back and rear delts seem to do most of the work. my lats do contract but my other muscles give out before i can fully work my lats. i've never managed to get a pump in my lats.

just yesterday after a layoff i did a back workout where i tried to focus on my lats. my rear delts, rhomboids/inner back are very sore. my lats not sore at all. i did bent over rows, dumbell rows, cable rows (tried to duplicate a pulldown type exercise) and pullovers. i succeed at pulling with my back (not arms) but not my lats.

did any of you have this problem before and how did you manage to build a connection to them and finally get a lat pump?