From my experience, i remember the led over by the circulation/recirculation buttons wasnt the brightest area. If you look at where the bulb is located, its a pretty good distance away. Unless you want to paint the inside of it white to carry the light to that location, you are just gonna have to deal with it being dim.
Also, the defrost button does glow. However, the bulb you need isnt a t3 bulb, it is a dildo type bulb. If you look directly behind the controls, you will see a rubber thingy that is brown. That is the bulb that is burnt out to illuminate the defrost part of the button. Not to be confused with the amber part that lights up when you press the defrost button.
3rd, i was going to suggest to have a friend look under where the cable connects, to see if its sliding the metal arm to adjust the cold and hot air. No resistance means it wasnt hooked up properly. But you already knew that.
Good Luck