Quote:
thinking and obviously this is wrong.

Quote:
I went in and changed the 1K array to a 100 Ohm array

Quote:
I tried with the array out as well and there was no noticeable difference in brightness

Too late, you've already damaged it.

Not sure what you mean about the "power capacitor". There is a black thingy on the back of the display that is the power supply inductor (100 micro henries), and two large electrolytic capacitors (in series, voltage across them should be 57 - 64 V DC).

I think you have damaged the HT supply circuit to the VFD, which is why it's dim. You may be lucky and have avoided damage to the display itself, but I'm not holding my breath.

If you have checked the voltage on the TP1 point (top end of the two electros on the back of the board) and it's at 25V, then you have probably killed the power transistor TR4 (the BSP373). Either that or one of the two caps has perforated (C19, or C18). Measure the voltage across each of the caps first (DC) and report back what you've got.

I hate to say it, but I wish you would post for advice here FIRST before doing this sort of thing: I am not saying you are no good at this, but it might be worth checking on stuff like this before you try it. You might have seen my post about this elsewhere.....