Garmin 305 HR crapped out?

Have been using Garmin Forerunner 305 with heartrate monitor/chest strap for over a year and no issues. All of a sudden nothing works. Changed batteries, cleaned battery tabs for build up gung, replaced O-ring in battery cover, reset complete watch info (soft reset and hard reset) according to tips on DC Rainmaker website, and have tried to rescan or search for accessories button, all with no luck.

I will occassionally get a quick single number reading at times; say 87 or 57 then the number freezes on the screen and eventually goes away, but otherwise doesn't pair with the strap. The little flashing x's are gone with the 'heart' symbol, so I assume its paired up with the watch?  I haven't done anything to damage the chest strap portion so I don't know if there is a short in the chest strap or what?

Any one with suggestions?

Thanks