This has certainly not been a waste of time. I found it to be a great learning experience. Thank you for all of your help.

I should add that the absence of a minimum load could be one other reason why the -5V supply may not be present when the board is powered up on its own.

FWIW, I'm aware of one Maxtor PCB that loads this supply with a 200 ohm resistor.

Having said the above, this changes nothing from your point of view, AFAICS.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

I guess I am taking quotes for this job. I would prefer someone on the east coast or within a couple days of shipping from where I am.