I found that the devices.txt file had an incorrect entry for the PIC16F1825.
It erroneously shows the chip as an 18 pin device (not 14 pin) and has the wrong device ID and wrong code size. After changing the entry in the devices.txt file I was able to program the device.
Here is my updated entry:
Name="PIC16F1825",ID="292764",Class="PIC16FXXX",Category="MCU",VPP="9V",WVPP="9V",MFG="Microchip",CFGAddress(Hex)="8007",CodeSize="8192",EepromSize="256",Package="DIP14"
,BEGPRG_COMMAND="8",ENDPRG_COMMAND="0A",BEGERASECHIP_COMMAND="9",ERASECHIP_COMMAND="",EEPROMHexFileAddress(Hex)="1E000",CFGHexFileAddress(Hex)="1000E",UserI
DHexFileAddress(Hex)="10000",Adapter="ICSP/PIC adapter+, no adapter required on GQ-4X";
I hope this helps others having similar problems.
I could program the device temporarily by setting the device to 16F1824 and ignoring the device verification. This may not have worked for larger programs as the code size of the 16F1824 is 4k and not 8k.