As I reported above, my D70 is kaput. I have further news in this regard.
I discovered a nice little retail art supply store in Englewood, Florida. I noticed that the owner had a D70 on a tripod and began to tell him about my tribulations. He said that he has owned three of them and two of them had already been returned to the factory for the same problems that I had experienced. That's four D70's that I know of in a twenty mile radius of where I live.
Also, while searching their web site,
www.Nikonusa.com, for any relevant information, I noticed that they have a recall on the battery: EN-EL3, which was supplied with my D70, as well as the D50 and D100. You might want to check the site and see if the serial numbers match what you have.
I have a new service number that I'm going to try tomorrow: 1-800-645-6678