ok, checked the ohms out at 8kohms again and i've done the initial repair, checked the ohms were the same all around.. all good at aprx 3.7ohm, re-assembled the player and..... doh! still not powering unless i short to the chassis,

here's the repair (finest wire i could find i'm afraid) on the underside of the board,


i also noticed inside the chassis, a scorch mark,


and another identical on the edge of the pcb, right next to the suppressor coil thingy leg.



can't see how it's happened unless something fell in and shorted it out? the fuse is still continuous,