Freezer floated around in 7 feet of muddy water. This model has no exposed evap coils. I cleaned out all mud from exposed parts, plugged it in. Motor ran till relay got smokin hot & fried. I replaced relay & overload. Didn't replace capacitor as it looks fully potted.

Now I plug it in & compressor runs drawing 0.8A steady but not producing cold. I turn temp control & hear audible click (presumably relay?) & motor kicks up faster w/louder hum, and amps go to 8.0. Halfa sec later another audible click (overload?), amps go to zero & no noise. After a min or two another click & amps go to 0.8 steady w/low hum from compr. but no cold as above.

My suposition is mud in temp control (which appears to be a reostat?) that I can't get out (I tried mass quantities of contact cleaner, but good access isn't possible w/out disassembling control & probably nuking it anyway.

Questions:
1) am I on right track w/replacement of temp control? If not what suggestions?
2) How do I replace the temp control (particularly sensor end which is currently inside the sheet metal casing somewhere)? Looks like the sensor end gets buried somewhere inside case probably next to inside skin of freezer compartment. I'm wondering if I can drill hole thru to inside compartment (storage area of freezer) & epoxy it to inside surface of compartment then cover it w/plastic sheet.
Thanks for any help.