Unplugged from wall outlet, remove the entire control assembly housing, unplugged all cables and ribbon, unscrewed and removed the logic board from the housing, forcefully removed the metal bracket from the housing, then removed the glued front panel front the housing.
Peeled the protective paper from the back side of the new replacement part and applied it to he front face of the housing (top corners first) and snaked the ribbon through the same opening as before, then replaced the metal bracket into the housing assembly, replaced the logic board and screwed in, re-attached all cables and re-assembled everything into place.
Started working right away with no -SE- error and hopefully will continue to do so regardless of humidity.