black screen on startup - not backlight issue

I have an a1181 core 2 duo macbook from either 2006 or 2007.

the macbook powers on

i hear the chime noise

I hear the dvd noise

but there's no light on the front showing the display is on

and the screen stays black.

I've held a flash light behind the apple symbol, and I see nothing on the screen, so I know it's not a backlight issue.

I've tested known good ram, i've cleaned the ram slots out with canned air

i've performed SMC resets

I've performed PRAM resets

nothing seems to be fixing it

What would my next logical move be?