Can you define "continuity". How are you measuring it? What's your multi-meter set to? What reading are you getting?

FYI, tone mode tells you there's some form of continuity which won't necessarily be a dead short. You need to use low resistance mode on the meter. In your case you set it to the 400 Ω scale. Put the meter probes together and the reading you get (close to if not zero) is a short circuit.

But I digress..
The output of the Q3 transistor goes to J2 pin 5. *But* it also goes to SDB J3 pin 4 and you have a wire there which shouldn't be there. You also have a wire missing from SDB J3 pin 3 - this wire is supposed to be white and comes from the rectifier board J3 pin 18 which is ground.. Looks like you have that white (smokey brown in your case) wire in the wrong position of the SDB J3 connector.

Great to hear you've got it resolved. That left outlane's a doozy, only game I feel like putting a rubber band there to block it