Some time back i wrote a similar translator for Abaqus to Code  Aster which you may be able to use/tweek  directly or as a "go by" . Note Ansys will output/translate to Abaqus in their "Work Bench" although  be it abit clumsy in my opinion.  I used a Translator Construction Tool kit   called http://eli-project.sourceforge.net/ to generate the translator. My intent was to translate both the bulk data and get the loads and boundary conditions translated as well a template for the complete comm file.  Attached is the complete source spec file the format of which  being a sort of hand written "tar" file. It is a flat text file including a some what  terse instructions on how to generate the executable from this input spec. Note i made some use of in memory hashing "uthash" as a linked lists were to slow with the size of the input decks being used "acouple of million dof + ". The templating for the  Pattern-Based Text Generator PTG i mentioned is  toward the bottom of the file, you may want to adjust for your needs or taste. It is a fairly straight forward  Lexial analysis is toward the top, the Syntax and Parse tree and rules are in the middle ,  and the unparser "ptg" is toward the bottom of the file.

This was a work in progress up to about a year and half ago , I know of some problems with the generated comm file with respect to the current code aster. Originally i decided i would make a copy of the mesh  when i needed to "say add mid-face nodes" on shells etc "CREA_MAILLAGE"  but the syntax has changed since so that  part need to be fixed with eficas as well as some of the options for solver call outs i know that are dated. I also didn't format the python tabs very well in my output as i always used eficas to view/adjust the run and it reformatted it for me. One other thing of note is naming conventions aster as a short, length limited , python centric naming criteria where the Abaqus names from the ".inp" files were not  so limited. So created a hashed name  translation for longer names coming from abaqus  which doesn’t help  with readability but it was all i could come up with at the time.

Thank you for your time and effort,

Yes the mail and comm files were created from a C program i wrote to convert my abaqus decks to aster.  Mainly the "bulk data" and loading so i could pull up the comm file in eficas and begin exploring asters capabilities .  I do seem to have something  behaving badly in my deck.  I was not able to get my job go run w/ the SEUIL_INIT as you mentioned but i did notice a similar responce when i tried setting the
ALGO_FROT='PENALISATION' and used COEF_PENA_CONT& COEF_PENA_FROT=1000  which is << E of 206000 MPA inoder to get it to start itterate past the the first time step . There seems to be some Large "latteral" forces being generated when the bolt is pre-tensioned via thermal cooling.  I simpified my model removing the constraint equations and putting in 6  poi1's three on the head of the bolt and 3 on the unconstrained plate, applying a K_T_D_N to it with 10000 N/mm  to stablize the model.

MA=CREA_MAILLAGE(MAILLAGE=MA0,
                 CREA_POI1=_F(NOM_GROUP_MA='cspoi',
                              TOUT='OUI',
                              GROUP_NO='csno0a',),);
...
STRUC=AFFE_MODELE(MAILLAGE=MA,
                  AFFE=( ...
                        _F(GROUP_MA='cspoi',
                           PHENOMENE='MECANIQUE',
                           MODELISATION='DIS_T',),),);
...
CE1=AFFE_CARA_ELEM(MODELE=STRUC,
                   DISCRET=_F(CARA='K_T_D_N',
                              GROUP_MA='cspoi',
                              VALE=(10000,10000,10000,),),);

and removed the referance to the pressure loading in STAT_NON_LINE but i am still getting <Erreur> La matrice du syst?me est singuli?re as the newton method bysects down to SUBD_PAS_MINI.

am i calling out the  time steping corectly so  the thermal preload is bisected as well ?

LIS2DD=DEFI_LIST_INST(DEFI_LIST=_F(METHODE='AUTO',
                                   LIST_INST=LIST_IC1,),
                      ECHEC=_F(EVENEMENT='DIVE_RESI',
                               SUBD_PAS_MINI=1e-20,
                               SUBD_PAS=6,
                               SUBD_METHODE='MANUEL',
                               ACTION='DECOUPE',),
                      ADAPTATION=_F(EVENEMENT='TOUT_INST',
                                    MODE_CALCUL_TPLUS='ITER_NEWTON',
                                    NB_ITER_NEWTON_REF=5,),);

i was also wondering if in the CONTAIN contact method if nodes are getting projected in a manner simillar to the LAISON_MAILE ?

I am not particulary fond of my mesh on my bolt to i think i will re-mesh it to refine the contact surface and remove the transition elements PYRAM13's  and try again.