Chris,
Let us know where you are located and maybe someone from the list who lives
nearby can meet with you and share some of their experience showing you how to
debug a problem radio in a systematic manner. If that doesn't work out, get a
copy of an old tube radio servicing bk (Marcus wrote some classics) and read up
on what each stage does and what the symptoms to look for are. A new book
called "All American Five" is also very good. Your enthusiasm is good, but some
assistance may help. By the way, the S-38 series has a "hot" chassis so use
what is called and isolation transformer when working on and using it. 73 Mike
KF6KXG