more info, i made an assumption the traction relay worked on the bench due to the clicking sounds i heard when sending power to the solder joints on the back side of the board. Bad assumption. turns out what i heard was the engine control relay, i assume the ECM relay? in the 3rd position. they must be wired in parallel.
so the traction relay coil must be bad, as it does not snap shut.
more on this later..