kronflux wrote:

okay, so I changed power supplies, and cleaned it. and turned it on.
within about 30 seconds, it started glowing again. I'm going to have
to assume this is a faulty bypass capacitor. that being the case, can
someone answer my question about that?
should I try to replace the bypass capacitor, unsolder it and solder a
bridge between the two leads, or unsolder it and leave it empty, with
two open leads?

Take suitable anti static precautions and un-solder the part. Its a
bypass capacitor and it has an internal short. Its also on the 5volt
rail so if you do decide to replace it almost anything of the same
physical size will do. Its value is not critical. Though I would
guess around .1uf to .5uf.

--
Best Regards:
Baron.