when the cRio power was at 3V, the battery was at 13.05V or something...
our camera wasnt plugged in at that time so i dont think the camera isolation was the problem.
and we did this testing when the cRio was off the robot (since we had to ship it), and it was on a wooden table so i guess that eliminates that possibility also.
so we finally reset the password on the camera again today and the good news is, EVERYTHING WORKS AGAIN!!! (even the not working 3.0V cRio works)
we just left it in a drawer over night, and it fixed itself
...
my thinking is that we still send in our cRio to NI once we receive our replacement one just to make sure that this does not happen in competition again.
thanks for the help guys
edit. oh and btw the reason i used such sensationalist headlines is to get attention so more people read it and try to help
thats all