First, don't apologize for your lack of knowledge. I have worked on over 30 em machines. Still sometimes struggle following schematics vs hardware in the game. And just closed out a topic this morning where I had to shout out for help because of a problem I couldn't solve on my own. Working on EM's is difficult. In fact, some people who are whiz's at working on solid state machines, won't touch an em. And you are getting really good guidance from Seamless, who is more knowledgeable than I am.
And he is right on in recommending you get the polarity right on the wall plug. Don't ask me how a fried a $100 soldering station a few years ago. LOL
Also, especially if you have an unpolarized plug, ALWAYS wear rubberized gloves when working inside the machine. And when you are not needing to test anything, make sure it is unplugged before you do anything. I know this may sound like safety 101, but it is easy to get working on a game, forget it is plugged in and try to disconnect something, or solder something (see note about soldering station above), when you shouldn't.
Back to the main problem. Let us know what you find from the test Seamless is requesting. If you don't have power on both ends of a fuse, unplug machine, pull all the fuses and do a continuity test on each fuse. Once in a while they look good but aren't. (If you don't know how to do a continuity test, either google it, or post back here and we will let you know). Again, no worries about lack of knowledge. That is why this forum is here. Many of the games I have worked on still wouldn't be running without the help here