"still had the oomf"
I believe the correct spelling for that nonexistent word is oomph (American) or oomphe (Old English), just an FYI.
"due to my dumb *** reversing the polarity on the deans"
May be wise to refrain from listening to 'too' much Bob Marley while soldering....
Sucks about the ESC tho, I've done it with an older "br*shed" esc