Can you try tapping off the middle pin of the power switch? That is 8-9v unregulated power from either DC in jack or batteries. (middle pin is because NEC wired the switch a bit strange. When viewing the PCB with the switch solder spot up, left and middle are connected when the switch is "OFF" and middle and right is connected with switch is "ON", the right pin goes to the regulator circuit and middle is unregulated input.If it still doesn't work, you got unlucky All the LCD I've tried always worked from either regulated 5v or from unregulated 8-9v