I got it free due to the condition, tried remote and power button on set, plug and connection inside the tv look ok, I don't see anything that looks out of order on any of the circuit boards etc. He said it had been working fine and then just wouldn't turn on. I'm fairly technical minded but no electronics genius so it does seem likely this will be hitting the dumpster soon if nothing works.
I uh, circumvented the cord and spliced to the power connectors inside the set and no change so yeah power somewhere but where.