I have had some similar experiences. Unless you have a lot of free time and nothing better to spend it on my guess is that chances are you will waste much time and not get far. From a practical point of view I would suggest finding a pro.
A new dishwasher with extended guarrante will be the solution.
Besides purchasing a new dish washer with extended warranty... Here is one more option:
If your problem is just the control board and not the other fun stuff like your motor or valves or whatever...
Look on ebay for parts - not the resister but the whole control board. You could probably replacing the whole control board a lot easier than purchasing a whole new machine, removal the old one, and reinstall the new one. Just getting the damn thing from the kitchen to the driveway for pick up is an adventure, and then you have to get the new one from the driveway back through the door - this time a lot more carefully because while you may not mind scratching or dropping the old, you certainly don't want to do that to the new.
I have managed to kept my old dish washer running for years by replacing only the broken part(s) from ebay. It was only until the darn thing cracked at the base and begun leaking that the whole thing had to be junked...