DIYbanter - Problem with the LCD front panel display on an NEC vcr

The NEC machine is a DX-2500U

Background: I was experiencing erratic behavior with some systems on
this VCR. Such as the Digital Memory giving me a distorted picture and
the unit not powering on. The solution to these problems was to remove
the nasty beige/brown glue from all PCBs (even some on the power
supply board).

Now everything works properly EXCEPT the front panel LCD display. I
did check for any broken traces and any damage to components soldered
to the opposite side of boards, but found no apparent problems. When I
plug-in the VCR, some parts of the LCD front panel display illuminate,
BUT very dimly ("Power" is off). I didn't notice that there was any
illumination until I removed the front cover from the unit (tinted
plastic). I can see that the clock IS operating and I am able to set
the time (and it keeps the time). Some of the other features on this
LCD panel dimly light, even when they are not called for (such as the
PLAY, REC, channel numbers, DIGITAL...). In other words, they appear
when they aren't supposed to appear, when the "Power" button is OFF.

When I press the "Power" button to turn the unit on, all the previous
items that were trying to display are now a bit brighter, except for
the clock/time itself. Some of these brighter items include the tape
counter, channel numbers, "VCR"... all of which would normally appear.
The digital tape counter appears to be displaying a "9999". I've
wiggled and made sure that all wire bundle connections are seated
firmly.

I've never really delt with a problem like this before and I don't
have a service manual for this model. Any suggestions on what might of
went wrong and what I might be able to do would be greatly
appreciated. This is a really nice VCR (1987 mfg date) and I'd really
like to keep it running a while longer.