Running out of ideas, I ask myself some tough questions, mostly based on my decision to use the best parts (as I mentioned above) for another purpose...
It's quite possible I've got a broken unit that can't "easily" be fixed... Eg. A chip failure on one you wouldn't be able to easily replace - the main CPU for example, having a single I/O line completely die which is used as a gateway to a successful boot.
I always wondered, with reconditioned units, when the touch screen (which IS a single component on its own) is cracked - what do they do with the other parts? Maybe not all broken units are readily fixable, but many of the parts can be recycled?
Site sponsors are welcome to respond..
(Or at least, anyone buying a reconditioned unit should always ask, before a purchase - tell me what is the likely problem! Or, specifically, what did you fix on the reconditioned unit?)