Well, at least I think I've nailed it down to where the problem is.

I rounded up a DVD I had made when the pool guy explained the entire system to begin with. The valves I imaged had nothing to do with this (well, nothing per se). There is one more automated valve located near the heater that is the spa/pool input controller.

This is an automated Jandy valve, and when I looked at it it was making an odd humming noise. I pushed at it and it moved like it was completing an operation and then stopped making noise. But nothing I do will move it further (automatically that is -- I can't even budge the thing manually).

So I'm guessing it has burned out, or gone bad, or gotten stuck or some thing I can't imagine. The wiring to the controller part looks okay (and is not in a place that could have gotten wrong) and it *was* making the humming so I'm guessing it still had power to it. But I'm going to have to call the pool guy$$$ into repair it, I guess.

Thanks for the offer to help, though -- it would have been nice to avoid the money but I'm pretty sure this isn't anything I could ever fix myself.