Hey Nigel, thanks for answering, I did all kinds of research and elimination process to pinpoint the problem.
The very first step was to replace the rear panel, It was bent(one ding at battery connector area on logic board also, see pics ) out of shape enough to not ignore. After the replacement that went very well, phone looked new, on startup the phone found signal without any issues. It only lasted a few days. then back to searching... as per your ICCID suggestion, I tried to simply remove the card and power the phone, go to "about" and see if detected...it did.
I'm thinking the Logic board might have gotten hurt enough to intermittently (weld or connection of some sort) fail.
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