A friend of mine was looking for a simple way of testing the ULN2803 IC's so I quickly threw together this circuit and built it on some vero strip board. I would use a 18pin Zif socket if you expect to be checking hundreds of IC's or you will probably be changing the IC socket pretty regularly. The circuit is powered by a single 5V 1A power pack.
Parts List
D1 to D8 - 3mm Red LED
R1 to R8 - 56R 0.6W
R9 to R16 - 220R 0.6W
SW1 - Momentary Push Button Switch
U1 - 18pin ZIF Socket or 18 pin IC Socket
When testing an IC you will know there is a short if any of the LED's turn on without the button being pressed, and you will know there is an open if the LED's do not turn on when you press the button. To test a ULN2003 which is a 16 pin IC, put it into the socket towards the back of the socket leaving pins 1 and 18 of the socket empty.