The chip is firmly in it's bracket, so I guess it just died with the excitement of being used again after 14 years. :-)

I owe you guys a lot, because I was about to take her up to the big smoke and hand her over to a white coat, along with substantial hard earned.

All I can offer is a heads up on a nice vintage synth going on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ViewItem&rd=1&item=260241655166&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=016

Once again, a BIG thank you!