MBA Mid-2012 Screen doesn't work when dimmed (Backlight Question)

Hi, everybody! I have a Macbook Air 13" Mid-2012 that I've been able to troubleshoot pretty effectively up to this point, but now I need the advice of experts!

After suffering a water spill (I don't know how severe), the laptop display has been intermittent. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it flickers. It works 100% perfectly when attached to an external monitor. If it's not working, sometimes moving it around, applying pressure, etc. might make it work to the point where you get a working display.

So... I took the back off and cleaned everything with 95% isopropyl alcohol and a toothbrush, let it sit long enough until it was dry, and then re-attached the display cable and the battery cable. There was no change in the behavior. Previously had reset PRAM and NVRAM and whatever else I could find online to rule that stuff out. No change.

Since there was no brightness at this point (after turning it back on and plugging into power), I used my flashlight to determine that *yes* there was a display and I could log in and clearly make out the icons, etc. with the use of the flashlight. Without the flashlight, it appeared completely dark, not just dim.

So... I moved the MBA around a bit till I got a dim image, logged into OSX, and then maxed the brightness using the F2 (brightness up) key. The display seemed to work perfectly. Then, I went to both the display settings and power saver settings and completely unchecked any display dimming feature. The laptop seems to work 100% with the backlight maxed out by software. I can reboot, shut down, etc... and it always comes back with a properly working screen. However, if I use the F1 (brightness down) key to dim the screen, when it reaches a halfway point of dimness, the screen flickers badly. **EDIT! On my fourth reboot, after working fine for hours, it did not come up bright, it came up dim again. AND... I confirmed that OSX thinks the screen is still at MAX brightness, and changing brightness does not impact the display at all. So clearly this is not a permanent solution, and OSX thinks it's putting out the right amount of power to light up the screen super bright!!!**

Given all that information, and that this was caused initially by water damage, what is the probable repair solution? Should I be looking to replace the backlight fuse? The driver? Is there a ribbon cable that might be iffy on the Mid-2012 MBA 13"? I have the behavior pretty much nailed down, I just want a permanent solution that isn't hopefully going to break the bank. Any help is welcomed!