Another update...
Left it unplugged for 2-3 hours and plugged back in and restarted. Same pattern
- no bong, dim CRT, jail bars. Checked the voltage at floppy pin 5,6,7,8. All read around 0V
- after a min or so, repetitive restart+bong
- after another 1/2 min or so, starts booting and no HDD...