How was this solved? If a 1-800 number doesn't do it that is the end?
Let me actually help you out! Do not throw your TV out just yet. With very little research and a little know-how you should be able to fix it yourself for much cheaper than the price of a new one. Lets not put more junk in our landfills from lack of quality information!
First off it is only going to be one of four things (typically) that could be wrong with your TV. Power supply, Inverter (powers your backlight), a bad capacitor (very common) or the CCFL's ( the back lights). You can find these things on the popular online bidding sites from people who have shattered their screens and what not for cheap.
If you are willing to open up your TV and take a gander at all the little capacitors that are in there you may see one that has bulged out a bit or the top may have a hole in it where it exploded. These are less than a dollar per. and with a 5 minute instruction on how to de-solder and soldering you will be back in business for less than ten dollars and one hour of your time (ten minutes soldering, 45 minutes getting the back off your TV). Check your voltage with a multi-meter on the capacitors before you touch them as they tend to hold a bit of a charge, it won't kill you but it will let you know it is there (if you have not played with these before I would suggest researching these too).
It sounds like your power supply went out. If that be the case you should first check and see if there are any fuses on the board (power supply will be traced from where your power cord enters the TV). If there is a fuse or fuses pull them out and test them with a multi-meter to see if they are good. If you find that they are all good then you need to get a "new to you" power supply from one of those sites that things are aquired from (I would use the name of said sites but for some reason BB doesn't like that). If they are bad you just saved yourself a whole lot of misery, get some new ones and get on with loving your TV again.
A good way to test your Inverter is non-invasive and only involves a multi-meter. Visit this site and he will show you how to get it done.
http://www.fonerbooks.com/test.htm
CCFL's may be the most dificult to find/replace but this too can be done. If after some tinkering and some resaerch you find that this is what it comes to be prepared to do an operation on your Tele.
Again take a look around the net before you venture in and be as prepared as you can before doing anything. You should not be scared to open up your home electronics, you should just be informed about "best practices" when dealing with things that you are unfamilar with.
After you fix your TV go to Best Buy and spend that money that you where going to spend on a new one on some new PS3 games as a reward for yourself!
