Is my RAMPS 1.4 dead?

Over the summer i put together an OB1.4 printer, the design came from Thingiverse and can be found here (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:41967), but have spent the last couple of months trying to work out issues with motors not working. I recently found another thread on this forum that described a similar problem where only the Y axis is responding but when you switch any of the other motor wires or stepper motor drivers over into the Y position they work fine, so i know that none of my drivers or motors are dead. In that forum running the RAMPS test program that moves all the motors back and forth helped fix the issue. I tried this but still only got movement from the Y direction and again i switched each stepper driver and motor wire pair into the Y position separately and powered it up again each time and got movement in each of them separately. I am currently on my second RAMPS board and Arduino mega (earlier i tried buying a new board thinking it may fix the issue) so i had an extra pair of motor drivers and i tried all of these with the same results as of before. Also just in case it is needed information my thermistors work fine and the printer will heat the bed and hot end without fail.

My question is whether or not the RAMPS board is dead because it only seems to be responding in the one position where the Y driver and motor wires go or if this is another issue? If so do you think it is a hardware or firmware issue, I am currently using Marlin.

Thanks in advance for any help or support you guys offer, i am desperate for ideas and very eager to get this thing printing! also i apologize if the post is overly wordy, this is my first one and i was trying to be detailed.

Much appreciated, Jake

If the problem persists using the Ramps-test software, it can't be Marlins fault.
You've changed Ramps and arduino already, but the problem persists which means you have won the lottery jackpot

All I can think of is checking the dir, step and enable pins for continuity. Also check the 12V pins on each driver port.
-Olaf

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/2015 05:21AM by o_lampe.

Thanks for the suggestions Olaf. I haven't had time to go and check the things you mentioned so it may still be a fix but incase they don't make a difference is the next best option to try a new RAMPS board again? If so is there a better place to purchase them for reliability? I have bought my last two from companies in china.

It doesn't hurt ( much ) to have a Ramps/arduino combo on the shelf. I only buy cheap, so I can't give you advice where to buy quality. Maybe a local dealer is kind enough to sell a tested and verified board?
-Olaf