I've been following this thread, have an S8000 that I plan to tackle one of these days.
I had a similar problem with my Fisher X 101 B. The problem ended up being a bad resistor. When I un soldered one end, the resistor fell apart. It had a radial crack all the way around the resistor body, just 1/16 inch or so from the lead. The resistor was soldered firmly in place, initially looked fine.
I didn't test ok. When I un soldered one end it fell apart. I spent a lot of time chasing that noise!Interesting. Did it test alright? Never thought to look for a cracked resistor. I tested em all, and I assume if they test OK then they are alright...