after many trials and tribluations with techs, online searches, etc., i've been able to deduce that my DLP light engine has kicked the bucket.
i've located the exact part at a decent price, however i've encountered blogs/sites/postings that say the replacement is easy; take the rear panel off, the engine unit is modular and slides right in (just like the lamp). then i've seen postings that the new engine will need to be reprogrammed to the digimain in order to function properly.