Well, my case sounds exactly like the May 5, 2009 blog posting. Here's what's happened:

Tech diagnosed the problem as the control board. Everything else is good, he says. It'll be 2 weeks and $225 for the board, according to him. 2 weeks!?! That's just not possible, so I order the part myself on-line for $75 less and have it next day. He comes back to install the new board.....uh oh, that doesn't seem to fix the problem. He's scratching his head, taking the whole thing apart now to re-check things. He says "it's another bad board....I don't know what else to tell you, it HAS to be the board" WTF?! C'mon, what are the chances of getting a bad board.

I call the place where I ordered the board, describe the situation, the guy (who happens to be a tech himself) says, "did he check the thermistor?" I ask the guy, and supposedly it's OK. Another question from the guy on the phone -- Is there 240v at the relay on the board when the dryer is on? Answer is yes. Guy on the phone insists then that the board is fine, the thermistor is the problem.

I also notice the tech used a jumper on the relay and the heating element came to life (just as you describe in the blog). But still, in his mind, something on the board is bad and is affecting the relay. At least, this is what he claims. (In the back of his mind, I think he's realizing he mis-diagnosed....)

He's going to order a thermistor and try that tomorrow, just to be sure. But he still says 99.9% it's the board. Uh huh...

So, any other thoughts..... is this a textbook thermistor problem? And really, what are the chances of getting a bad board? I know, very slim...and I'm extremely skeptical. That being the case, it looks like I'm gonna be stuck with this control board, should it not be the culprit. Thanks in advance