You're making progress; the pickup test eliminated some stuff.  Mica's left for the evening; but if she checks this thread tomorrow maybe she'll have some more things to check.
 
While you're waiting to hear back from her, take a glance at the input jack.  Slide the plug in and out and see if you can see where it might possibly be shorting out.  There's a switch on the input jack that breaks the battery circuit when the plug is removed, so take a look at how that's working when you move the plug in and out.

I just checked the input jack - when I insert a small screwdriver into the cavity side of the input jack and touch the tip end of the cord against the metal part of the input jack, I get sound.  So the problem seem to be the input jack.  That seems to be where its shorting out.  Is this a simple fix?  Thanks so much.

It should be a simple fix, perhaps as easy as bending the contact so it makes a better connection with the tip of the connector. Try that and see what happens!

Make sure the contacts are clean too.

This thread is awesome. Maybe there is hope for humanity after all............

Claude, English is not my native language so I don't know what I'm at my wits end means but don't hurt yourself :-). It seems actually to be avery simple problem. Last week I had similar problem (see my post about jack for Essence). I think that the jack is not contacting and it is not providing +9V to the preamp. As Mario wrote: There must be a way to check that with a multimeter. The only problem is how to do it. And a multimeter in this case is required - do you have one?
You could make a better picture showing the jack. As far as I can see, there are two pins at the top of the jack. One is most probably connected to the battery (red wire), and the other one is connected to the preamp. When a plug is inserted into the jack these two pins should be shorted. I think this is not the case in your bass. Set the multimeter to Volts range, connect one clip to ground (e.g. to the jack), the other clip connect to the pins that I mentioned. On one pin you should have +9V and o the other 0V. Now, if you put a plug into the jack, you should have +9V on both pins. If this is not the case, you have to replace the jack (or fix this one).
Of course, it is still possible that this is some other problem (e.g. wires to the battery clip or board touching the cavity) but this is what I would check first. Let me know what is the outcome.
 
Mark

As mentioned before there should be another thread called Alembicpedia for all this useful info.
Claude..looks like progress is being made..hang on in there
A suggestion - although the PC board doesn't touch the silver paint I would suggest a small sliver of foam or electrician's insulating tape near the area just to make sure there is no contact..there my two pennies worth!

Well, when I got my new (Secondhand) Epic 5, I had a problem somewhat similar to this. I had to plug half-way to get any sound. It was one of the internal tips of the (modular) jack. As stated, it is  modular, and you can disassemble it (each tip is part of a thin metal piece that slides in and out of the square plastic box that makes the jack casing). I happened to have a couple similar jacks lying around, from some onboard bass preamps I bought, so I got the replacement piece from one of those, and installed in its place, and voila!. You have to be careful, though, because one of these pieces, that has a small plastic round tip at the end, is the switch itself, and if bent or damaged, it might result in an always on circuit, which would drain your battery quickly. It has been a year since I did this, and it has been working flawlessly ever since.

Yes, this small plastic round tip is very important (you can see it on the photo).  
It seems that this is jack 113BX from Switchcraft: http://www.switchcraft.com/ProductSummary.aspx?Parent=72
You have to confirm with Mica that this is a correct type. Otherwise you will short the battery.
 
Mark

I ask this not to be a smart-ass, but because I have, on more than one occasion, gone nuts looking for deep problems  & found out I'd overlooked the basics - you did, of course, turn up the volume?
 
Peter

That exact jack is Switchcraft L113. Use only this exact part. Not even Switchcraft has all the models they offer on their website. We have spares of this jack available.  
 
We're now using the Switchcraft 53 jack in this circuit. You can replace with this one (looks like there is plenty of room in the cavity for this larger component), but it is wired in differently. If you order this one from us, we will provide documentation for it.

First of all, thanks to everyone for their patience, and assistance.  It turns out the jack itself is bad. After looking in the jack I noticed the little strip of metal inside the jack had broke off, not the strip that contacts the plastic round tip, but the other little metal strip on the opposite side with the little curly end. ( I don't know what you call it). So I just ordered the part from Alembic (Nice People).
So again, Thanks everyone, I will be back in business next week.  Have  a Great Weekend.

It was nice to meet you over the phone. Mary was amazing and got the part sent out today, so you should see it next Wednesday or Thursday.

It was EXACTLY the failure I had. Nice to know it was not only easy to solve, but also that Mica and the wonderful Alembic people were there to help. Now this got me curious... Should I ever need to replace it again, how much would that cost me? Can I order it via e-mail or do I necessarily (since I do live outside the U.S.) hae to do it by phone?. It is GREAT to know and feel you are there to bring help and support. It is one of the many wonderful things of being part of the Alembic family.  Greets and hugs to everyone!

It was EXACTLY the failure I had. Nice to know it was not only easy to solve, but also that Mica and the wonderful Alembic people were there to help. Now this got me curious... Should I ever need to replace it again, how much would that cost me? Can I order it via e-mail or do I necessarily (since I do live outside the U.S.) hae to do it by phone?. It is GREAT to know and feel you are there to bring help and support. It is one of the many wonderful things of being part of the Alembic family.  Greets and hugs to everyone!