Okay so update. I have replaced 1 UF4007 rectifier diode with a 1N4005 that I believe was blown (another thread said I could probably do this - this is all I could find at Radioshack). Also, I couldn't find a 1 amp slow blow fuse, but did find a .75 amp fast acting fuse, which I am now using.
Altogether, the amp comes on, and the large tube seems brighter than before, but all the LEDs come on and all the voltages are all fine except for the following: A1 - 70, A6 - 75, B1 - 75, B4 - 70. Not sure if these are correct with speedball or not. I did manage to get a cord which allows me to connect my iphone directly (with an audio interface). With this now, I have no bass, but I can hear in both channels when the volume pot is turned high.
With the iphone plugged in, the sound buzz/hum is relatively quiet when at 50% volume, but no bass. I've checked all the grounds according to the stickied post and they are fine.
I have also gone back and resoldered any joints that looked possibly cold. The only other thing I can thing to do is the resistor mod on the volume pot outlined in the FAQ. I tested the large and small transistors as well, and those seem to be fine (all very high ohms, if they can be read at all on their 3 pins). Other than the voltages stated above, I can find no voltages or resistances out of the ordinary, even after following the ground stickied post as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much guys.
UPDATE:
I went back to take a gander at the 270k ohm resistor and terminal 13. I found that I'm getting a * reading instead of "a climb toward 270k", even on the highest ohm setting on my meter. In addition, when checking the two wires coming of the resistor themselves, I'm getting erratic resistance activity of the resistor. I'm getting a (-)600k reading from the resistor, which is going extremely slowly back to zero. When I switch the test leads, I get the * when doing this.
P.S. sorry for being a complete and utter noob.
UPDATE 2:
When reverting to using the RCA cables I was using originally, I have found that when there is no input connected to the rca, I get a slight hum at 50% pot, but when I connect the iphone, the hum increases slightly in amplitude. HOWEVER, when I put one hand on the chassis AND one on the iphone, the hum goes dead silent at 50% volume. When I play music on the iphone with my hand on the chassis and on the iphone, there is bass and the amp sounds as clean as possible using the $0.50 DAC inside an iphone. However, as soon as I remove my hand from the chassis or iphone, I lose bass and get a low hz hum. The hum increases in volume if I have my hand on the iphone, but no hand on the chassis. There is no hope at all currently for my laptop/DAC setup. Again there is no bass, even with hand touching the chassis when using the laptop/dac combo. There is still crackling when turning up the pot and channels tend to go in and out above or below ~50% pot. The same can be said for another lower hz hum as well. Fiddling with the headphone jack still takes channels in and out. Thanks for reading this far! Haha.
UPDATE 3:
I have restored bass to the headphones/DAC while the macbook charger is connected. I did this by reflowing some joints. All other problems persist. Terminal 13 now reads * instead of the erratic -600 ohms, even at highest voltmeter setting. In addition, "grounding" the macbook with the charger, but not sending power through the charger (by leaving the charger half in) allows me to retain the bass and eliminate the buzz and the static. All I am left with is low hum at 120hz (probably), a sine wavish hum at 200 hz (maybe) and another prominent hum at 400 hz or so.
UPDATE 4:
RCA center pins are now reading 50k ohms each instead of 90-100k. Not sure why. Too tired to try to figure it out at the moment. RCA ground lugs are correctly reading 0 ohms. In total, A1, A6, B1 and B4 are low. Terminals 7, 9 and 13 give * resistances when they shouldn't.
