OK, no conductive grease! Thank your husband for me! I bought the replacement from Sewing Parts Online. I cant remember now if they described it as a Brother part, or if it was a generic. I could buy another from them, but I am concerned that I will have the same problem. I have sent them an e-mail asking for information, so I may be getting some answers there.
In the meantime, I will start looking around for a dealer. And I will leave the machine off and stop fiddling with it until I have a new cord from somewhere.
Thank you both!