Inspiron 1520 Screen Very Dim

Hi all,

I'm hoping to get some help with an issue that I've seen posted about the internet, but with no satisfactory solution given anywhere.

The LCD screen (WSXGA+) on my Inspiron 1520 one day suddenly just became extraordinarily dim (about 5% ordinary brightness).  If I have a white window with text, the one way I can read is by shining a flashlight on small portions of the screen.  It is worth noting that consistently whenever the screen refreshes (ie, booting up, or coming out of suspension, etc), the screen is normally bright (though reddish) for 1/2 second before going dim.  However, attaching an external monitor works perfectly fine, which indicates that it is probably not the video card or BIOS.  

Everything I've seen online seems to indicate that it is either the inverter or backlight that has failed...but I have not seen a solid indication one way or the other.  So my question is whether it is possible to replace any components easily enough, or if its simply possible to purchase a new LCD screen (w/inverter or backlight attached) to solve the problem.  Or if there are any other know fixes.

For reference, this topic had a very similar issue, with no resolution: http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/p/19243199/19374522.aspx#19374522

Thanks very much for any help!