Testing the Lamp Rows.
If you suspect a TIP122/102 transistor that drives a lamp row as bad, you can test it:

Remove the backglass and fold down the display, to gain access to the CPU board.
Turn the game on.
After the game boots, press the center red button inside the coin door into the down position. Then press the black button closest to the coin door. Now press the center red button again. Pressing the black button closest to the coin door will move from test to test.
Go to the "All Lamps" diagnostic test.
Unplug the connectors at 1J6 and 1J7 (lower right portion of the CPU board).
Connect your alligator test lead to pin 1 of 1J7. Pin 1 is the right most pin, as facing the board.
Connect the other end of this test lead to one lead of a 555 light socket. You can temporarily get one of these from a playfield lamp (make sure the lamp works first!).
Connect another test lead to the second lead of the 555 light socket.
On the other end of the test lead, clip on a 1N4004 diode, with the banded end away from the alligator lead. Touch the banded end of the diode to pin 1 of 1J6. Again, pin 1 is the right most pin, as facing the board.
The lamp should flash.
Move the diode/alligator lead on 1J6 to the next pin. Again, the lamp should flash.
Repeat the previous step, until the last pin of 1J6 is reached.

If a lamp row tested doesn't give a flashing test lamp, that row is bad (or you have the test diode reversed!). No light or a non-flashing, bright lamp are signs that the respective row TIP122/102 transistor is bad. Test the transistor as described in Testing Transistors and Coils.

http://techniek.flipperwinkel.nl/wms11/index2.htm#lamp

This:

"Also, could someone who knows the game confirm on the game play: The blue 5x multiplier on the playfield starts out lit and blinking in our game. I am thinking that isn't correct but I have no idea where to start with that."

is normal. It means you have the 5x set as the threshold for an award (extra ball, usually). It is adjustable in menus. Don't worry about it as you work on your other problems.

Don C.

While it certainly could be something upstream, total row failure as tested is most likely the transistor only. You can test upstream first, but most will simply replace the transistor (of course, have multiples of this transistor on hand in case it fails again)

The large white rectangles are high wattage resistors. When they have a continuous large current going through them, the resistance causes energy to be displaced as heat. This is why they are made this way and is perfectly normal.