Update on the Dano -
I tried replacing the selector switch on a suggestion: found one, put it in, tried it before putting it all back together - bingo, working in all positions! Put it all back together, plug it in - same exact problem as before! Major puzzlement, but I decide to backtrack by loosening the controls mounting bracket. Suddenly, its working again - and then not -. I realize at last that all along it was a loose ground wire on the back of the pots where all the grounds are soldered...GRRR!

Anyways, it is a keeper - low output single coils in this funky hollow body give a cool variety of sounds. And man, when they say they are made of plywood and masonite, they aren't kidding! Kind of amazing that you can make a good-sounding guitar out of such minimalist stuff! Or even one that stays in one piece...