RIVE posts ONLY after PSU unplugged for hours; shuts down 30 min +00 code one BIOS+++

[reeltape]

Hi everyone! I have read a lot of similar posts related to or similar to my present situation; however, after a few days of reading and trouble shooting I can't quite nail down what is going on. So here it goes:
I have a Rampage IV Extreme that shut down last week and I could not restart it UNLESS I unplug the PSU from the wall and leave it sit for hours.
When I do get it to POST I can only do so on one BIOS. The other BIOS gives a 00 code and will NOT post. (could be 2 separate issues here, so let's stick with the BIOS that is working for now as I have done a BIOS flashback on both chips and nothing has changed).
When it posts I go into the BIOS setup/recovery and then can sometimes restart and get into windows.
It only stays on for an hour at most before shutting down again and at that point I can NOT restart the rig
I should also point out that the time and date and bios settings are NOT remembered between reboots after I unplug the PSU (tried 2 new CMOS batteries)
Booting on the known good BIOS, I get GREEN LEDs for DRAM and VCORE and a RED LED for CPU
System had been working quite well for 6 years. NEVER ONCE overclocked
ONE last thing, for about the past 3 years, I sometimes had to do the hairdryer trick to warm the circuits to boot the rig when it had been sitting in a cold room for a while. This happened when it was at my cottage for a while and unused for a month or so at a time. But this worked and I had no issues unless it was left for months.
temps when I get into windows are 29-40C. Touch heatsink and its not even warm

What I have tried:
Power going to the board. I have tried 3 known good PSU and it's NOT the PSU
I replaced the CMOS battery
1 stick of ram furthest from CPU
Breadboarding
Only SSD drive hooked up to board
NO bent pins on CPU
NVIDIA GPU, tried 2 different, no change
Cleared CMOS ridiculous amount of times and pulled battery etc

I am thinking it should be maybe sent off to be repaired, maybe a bad cap, cant smell or see anything wrong with it... no popped caps.
ANY IDEAS?? ANY guidance would be helpful
I am in Canada and wonder if anyone has had experience with repairs done out of warranty and what to expect
Clearly this board is still at $500-700 to buy when you can find one... would like to fix it!
****KEY ISSUE*** is that I have to completely let the power drain from the board before it will repost, AND in doing so, the BIOS settings are LOST despite trying different NEW CMOS batteries. It makes no difference whether I have a good new battery on the board or not, settings are lost

CPU 3930K
Antec 1200w platinum
32gb Samsung DDR3
Crucial SSD
NVIDIA GPU (it's not that either)

[JustinThyme]

Letting the power drain is simply forcing it to reinitialize everything as if its being started for the first time.
From what you have described with it losing BIOS settings with a new CMOS battery your board is defective. Repair can cost more, if you pay them they have to make it right. In the US they are available as refurbs from multiple sources in the $250 range but Im not a fan of refurbs. Would not hurt to reach out to ASUS and get cost then weigh your options on whether or not its worth the repair or time to bank the $$ for a new build.

[reeltape]

Letting the power drain is simply forcing it to reinitialize everything as if its being started for the first time.
From what you have described with it losing BIOS settings with a new CMOS battery your board is defective. Repair can cost more, if you pay them they have to make it right. In the US they are available as refurbs from multiple sources in the $250 range but Im not a fan of refurbs. Would not hurt to reach out to ASUS and get cost then weigh your options on whether or not its worth the repair or time to bank the $$ for a new build.

Cool thanks for your advice. I am not a big fan of refurbs either, but I would consider a refurb for 250, can you point me in that direction? Everywhere I have looked has them for sale for quite a bit more than 250. I am not into buying another r4e from china for 500! Thanks again for your input!