Aha. The issue from my previous comment was because the ch340 documentation had different package than what i have on my adapter. 20 pins Vs. 16 pins.

Can not get this to work on a ESP12F at 3.3V. I am using the 'ch340' USB>TTL and there is a DTR and RTS on it. AI Thinker default firmware works so its talking to the adapter. I have removed the D1 and D2. I only have '4148' diodes. I'm suspecting the 100nF capacitor might not be enough. I don't own an oscilloscope, maybe my logic analyzer could tell me something.
12K pull-ups.

Here is my project http://imgur.com/a/PKArc