Success!!!! Thanks everyone!
So I ended up replacing ALL components that were provided in the Repair Kit (all 13 of them), as I knew already 3 or 4 were faulty on the board and then I figured I'd just unsolder the remaining ones since I had replacements anyways. In the process I found a few more bad ones.
Here are all 13 components provided in the kit and which ended up being BAD or GOOD on the board:
1 Resistor (R611 *BAD)
3 Transistors (Q501 *? can't test it , Q601 *BAD, Q602 *BAD)
8 Diodes (Bridge Rectifier: D601, 602, 603, 604, *all GOOD)
(D607 *GOOD, D608 *BAD, D609 *BAD, D653 * BAD)
(by the way I would have never suspected D609 or D653)
1 Capacitor (C605 * PROBABLY GOOD but I changed it anyways)
As you can see by the attached images, I used the DIM BULB TESTER which I made thanks to your help here on the forums. I started off with a 25 WATT bulb.... Light went on for a second then off.... And TV was trying to "boot" but would not start (status light would power up, then off, then on, then off and show "Philips" for a moment on the LED screen).
Then I went up to a 40 WATT bulb... same thing... Bulb on and then off a split second later, and TV looked like it wanted to start but would cycle on/off the screen with the startup logo.
Finally, placed a 60 WATT bulb and TV powered up!!! And the bulb had a faint glow on it, as you can see by the attached photos. The TV ran well and I'm using it now.
All in all....
$5 in blown fuses
$25 in parts/shipping from ShopJimmy
$15 for the ESR/component tester
$25 for parts to build Dim Bulb Tester
A whole bunch of time troubleshooting...
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TOTAL: $70
Learning a ton of concepts on electronics repair.... PRICELESS!
(By the way, my wife couldn't wait for me to fix this thing as she needed it at her office... so meanwhile I bought another TV of the same size for $135... so this repaired one will be an extra we needed for home anyways).