Hmm.. Thread Necromancy..
I have this hand controller on my much-abused EQ3 - I modified it to have a pair of spade lugs for input as well as the normal 8x cell holder, well over a year ago, and it was doing fine - Until thursday night. I was testing a DIY dual axis controller modification, and somehow (I'm still not sure how!) i caused the factory controller to fail.. After verifying it was actually the factory controller (and not the motor itself) that had failed, i desoldered the ULN2k3 darlington array (the only part i had a replacement for, due to the DIY dual axis control system) and soldered in a socket.. New ULN2K3 in the socket, and the controller seems to be working as good as new - The case even fits back together with the added height of the socket!
Just thought you would all like to know.