Here are your parts
Replacement parts for WHIRLPOOL DU948PWPQ2 Undercounter Dishwasher | AppliancePartsPros.com

Here is the tech sheet
http://www.servicematters.com/docs/wiring/Tech%20Sheet%20-%208535431.pdf

Could be a shorted heated dry key only way to check for sure is with a meter, see the tech sheet.

Try running the diagnostics perhaps it will help you narrow it down.
Try different cycle types re: rinse only etc. to see if some component is locking the unit up.

[COLOR="Blue"]I put the dishwasher in diagnostics mode and when I advanced to the next cycle from the start (all lights) the system shutdown and went to the flashing heated dry again.[/COLOR]
Since the keypad checks out OK and the unit would not run diagnostics then my guess would be that it is a control board problem.
Unless an error comes up the usual way to check these problems is to check the keyboard and if it is OK then replace the control board. Still a bit of a crap shoot but your odds are better.
Since you have done some troubleshooting if you order the control board from AppliancePartsPros and it does not fix your problem they will let you return it. Please see their return policy.

[COLOR="Blue"]If the heating element is bad, could that cause this to happen?[/COLOR]
I do not think so but am not sure

[COLOR="Blue"]Also, how do I remove the heating element to test it? Do I have to pull the dishwasher out?[/COLOR]
Yes I believe the unit has to be pulled forward.
To check it you just have to pull the wire off one side of it and measure it with a meter (20 ohms approximately). Also check the high limit thermostat (Item 18 in Section 3), should be 0 ohms.
You also have a cycling thermostat (Item 37 in Section 4)
Though usually if one of these blows the symptom is long or hung up cycles as the water doers not get up to temperature.

[COLOR="Blue"]So, as soon as the unit starts and water starts building up and reaches a certain point, it goes to the heated flash light and stops. The level the water reaches is below the heating element so it is not filling up a lot. Maybe that is a clue to what is wrong?[/COLOR]
Not sure on this either perhaps someone who has seen this problem will jump in and provide some input.

I know this thread is old, but is there anywhere else I can get the tech sheet for testing a control panel? I have a whirlpool quiet partner iv (GU2700XTSB1) with similar problems, and was hoping to test the control panel before buying a new one. The link in the post above to the tech sheet required a whirlpool login, which I do not have.
Thanks!

Thanks, Denman! I unplugged the control panel, and ran the test, and it drained for 2 minutes, so I went on and ran the tests for the control panel, but they all seemed to check out. I got a very slightly different reading (0.763) for the "adaptive wash" on my meter, but the rest get almost exactly the same reading (0.755). I also don't have a "soak & scour" option on the panel (pins 11 and 3), so I don't know about that one.

Somehow, I have been able to get the dishwasher to run a cycle (albeit a VERY long cycle of ~3 hours, with the timer basically getting stuck several times) by taking off the panel and re-seating the connections, and I've done this for the last 3 washes. But, something else is still wrong -- when the dishwasher is idle, several of the LEDs (pots&pans, normal and light) are dimly lit, along with the display having a very faint "--". When I press a button on the panel, it's a toss-up as to whether the cycle works, or I get locked out with flashing lights. If the lights start flashing & I get locked out, I unplug, take it apart and re-seat the connectors, then sometimes it will work again.

Does this sound like the circuit board to you? From searching on the net, the flashing LEDs and lockout seems to be a fairly common problem - is it possibly something I did, or perhaps a defect? Maybe a power surge is causing all these problems on these new computer-controlled appliances?

Thanks again!

esi_ent

Check the heater for continuity.

Check the hi-limit thermostat for 0 ohms.