Tammi,
"
Electrical is not worth jury rigging.... especially because those blocks are worth about $5. One slip up in the logic and it gets exciting! Luckily I have a donor cord block here. "
No way did I even begin to indicate I'd leave that wiring or even do such a botched up job. I just know how to do it the hard wiring way. I'd rip that junk out and put in a new cord block in a heartbeat.
"
Yeah, the biggest problem is if you don't let them use tools, they'll just use forks, knives, teeth and swiss army knives. And that just makes a bigger mess. 
"
Yep, seen that too.
"
I should mention too, this is one of the other machines they couldn't get working: "
Gee, I wonder why. Those that messed it up will have nightmares where that wad of thread attacks them.
"
I was so scared that was going to smell like cat pee like the last one that looked like that did.
Cleaned up real well though, it might sew better than my "keeper" 301. "
That poor 301. That does look like cat pee don't it. ( I should know, I've lived with the little critters most of my life )
What amazes me in a not good way is how utterly filthy and crudded up some folks will let their machines get. Oil build up that will turn the machine brown, lint and fuzz that is so packed you have have to dig it out then use compressed air to blow it out of the places you can't get too.
How can people sew clean fabric on machines that filthy and feel good about the end product, I'll never understand that.
Joe