[speedygonzales]

Holy crap you could write a list of things to try at this point.

You could see when it's turned on but the compressor is off if there is any voltage going to the compressor and to the switches.

You could have die added to the coolant and start looking for leaks with UV light.

You could have it evacuated of refrigerant and then vacuumed with a pump and micrometer to see if it's got a leak.

You could jump the compressor to 12 volts to force it to run (if it won't seem to come on) and see what the pressures are doing.

My suggestion is evacuate the system and disassemble the orifice tube and look for contamination. I'd be willing to put money on it having debris in it. At that point the system needs flushing, new seals and reassembled and vacuumed (again with a vacuum pump and micro vacuum gauge).

I don't waste my time vacuuming any system without a micro vacuum gauge. To me it's a waste of time. With a micro gauge, if the vacuum gets below 500, you know there is no leak. A normal vacuum gauge will never tell you that.

Prior to disassembly, running the compressor will tell you if it's going to last or if it needs replacing.

In my 99's case I was having no problems ever but decided to change the compressor to a Sanden. When I pulled it apart the orifice tube had metal bits in it indicating the compressor was on it's way out.

Incidentally sometimes it's better to bite the bullet and find a REPUTABLE shop to go to. Particularly those jobs that require tools and equipment that the common lay person does not have. However I understand the frustration of finding a good shop. Luckily I have a neighbor that has a shop. If it doesn't need it, he wont do it.