Is there any hope for this Sony before I set it out on the curb?

I got this TV for free with dark screen issues on the left side, similar to what is described and shown here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1173106
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoFAWqWow2g

I tried to get to the tabs around the LCD, but in the process I must have shorted something and ended up with this:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1392290

So I bought a new TCON board last week from ShopJimmy, finally got it today, installed it, and no change in the display at all. Still very light with some odd shaded banding.



However I noticed if I opened the 2 ribbon connector hold-downs on the left side of the TCON board (left side from the front of the TV), the RIGHT side of the display looked almost perfect!





But when I secured all the ribbon hold-down's, the screen turned all light again. There wasn't any banding or shading, the "whiteness" was pretty even across the screen. It looked as if the brightness was turned way too high, despite having reset all settings to factory.

Any chance of fixing this thing or am I better off just setting it outside for some scavenger to grab up?

No one has any other ideas?

Thanks, looked thru there but didn't seem all that helpful. Looks like most of their stuff is geared towards computer/laptop LCD displays.