Trouble getting 2008 Macbook running

[CapnCrunch53]

Hello, I recently bought a black early-2008 MacBook (A1181). The seller stated that the laptop loses power if the battery is in, but works on AC power. However, I haven't been able to get the laptop to turn on or do anything at all.

The Magsafe port does not light up at all when plugged in, not even faintly. These are some of the steps I've tried:
SMC reset - 10 seconds unplugged, then continue holding for 10 seconds after plugging in. I do this after every other thing I try.
Cleaning the Magsafe port and adapter with 91% iso. alcohol.
Replacing the Magsafe board with a used replacement from eBay.
Getting a replacement power adapter (used) from eBay.

The Magsafe board and/or Magsafe power adapter should have been the most likely culprits, correct? But after replacing each, I still don't have any luck. Unless one of the replacements is bad, what should I look for next? Is a bad logic board my most likely issue? I should mention that I got the laptop for very cheap AND it came with a 64GB SSD (almost worth the price I paid alone), so I'm not afraid to put a bit of money into it.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

EDIT: I've tried using the jumpstart solder pads on the motherboard to rule out a bad keyboard, tried with both power supplies, both magsafe/dc in boards, still no dice

 

[jav6454]

So the Mac dies as soon as you put in the battery? Am I understanding this correctly?

 

[CapnCrunch53]

So the Mac dies as soon as you put in the battery? Am I understanding this correctly?

Actually no, that is what the seller said in the auction for the Macbook, but I cannot get the Mac to work at all, regardless of battery. Fan does not spin up, display does not flicker, nothing, regardless of whether I have the AC adapter and the battery in, or just the AC adapter. Completely unresponsive in every configuration. I've tried with both of my AC adapters, both of my DC input boards, using both the power button and the pads on the motherboard that you can use to start the machine. I've tried SMC resets, cleaning the adapters and the Magsafe ports very thoroughly, reseating connectors. Nothing has made a difference.

I did notice that with the second Magsafe AC adapter that I got, when it is plugged in, the light on the adapter does glow faintly green where it did not on the first adapter. Still no luck, however. After some more reading around I'm pretty convinced the logic board is toast, so I'm going to try and get a cheap same-specced Macbook with a busted screen but good logic board on eBay I think. At this point the money I'll have into the laptop even with the cost of a parts machine is still a bit less than what they seem to go for on eBay in working shape, and those ones dont have SSDs, so I'm still doing alright as far as cash goes I think.

 

[jav6454]

Have you opened the Mac and checked entry points for the Magsafe chipset? I'm guessing something fried there.

 

[CapnCrunch53]

Have you opened the Mac and checked entry points for the Magsafe chipset? I'm guessing something fried there.

I've looked and nothing looks out of place, I haven't disassembled it to the point where I can look at the underside of the board, maybe something's up there. It seems more and more likely I have a bad logic board, and with the price of replacements, I think tomorrow I may try the "Oven Trick", where you bake the board in an oven to hopefully reflow the solder and get it working. Been wanting something to try that on for awhile anyways haha.