Ok, here's the final followup.
The old trimmer for the voltage, which was supposed to be 220R turns out to be about 1k5 from end to end, so went out this morning and bought some new 220R trimmers, turns out one of them isn't anywhere near 220R (160R), but the other two were 210R, close enough.
Also, replaced the the graticule illumination (2 incandescent bulbs) with 5 red LEDs w/ 2k in series, which solves the problem of the graticule illumination, with new sexy red.
Need to pick up some better contact cleaner and have a good go at channel 1's Y controls (which only work if you wiggle and have exactly the correct tongue angle), but channel 2 is working like a charm
Scope: $10
Trimmer: $1
Getting a working scope for less than a case of beer: Priceless