I connected the white neutral wire to the terminal block labeled C in my photo -- there are two connection lugs on that block. All of my 12V appliances work again! The white wire did not show any signs of melting or burning that I could notice.
I held my breath and plugged the 7-pin connector into the TV. No problems so far.
The whole thing still does not really make sense to me, but bottom line - we're going camping! For that we thank Mike and the others who posted here. This definitely would've been a weekend at home without you. Thanks again and have a great weekend!
