Well finally resolved & back in business. As suspected the problem was this $15 valve. As noted in the post above the rubber part of the valve became distorted over time and therefore stuck into the valve block. In this photo below of the new valve the rubber part is flat so it easily lifts out of the valve block when I press the up button. Amazing how a $15 part can disable the entire car so I bought 2 just to have a spare handy. Thanks for everyone that chimed in.
IMG_2472RideProValve by JanDaMan, on Flickr
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