Just thought I'd ring in here in case anyone else has any insight. I have the same problem with my Jokerz! system. There is some damage on the CPU board, which I think could be the cause.
Pinmike, this odd Jokerz stereo sound board does in fact take a chip that misses 2 rows of pins in the socket.
toyotaboy, on my system, the sound chip notch faces the 2 empty rows on the socket.
https://goo.gl/photos/S7taA2F79SJex52w9
Any chance you've made any headway on your problem since you last updated the thread?
Cheers!
Jordan.