Stuck in a bootloop and battery wont hold a charge. What next?

I picked up an iPad Air 2 for free with the intention of repairing it.

This is whats happening:

• The Ipad wont power on unless its plugged in
• when plugged into a computer, i get a low battery - apple logo boot loop
• when plugged into 2w ipad charger, i get a quick flash of the red battery logo, apple logo and the screen goes black.
• I am able to boot into DFW mode and iTunes starts the restore but cant complete since I cannot get into recovery mode.

Ive made sure the charging pins are clean and have left the iPad on a charger for a while but it has not booted.

Am i looking at a problem that can be a simple as a battery replacement? Or could it be a logic board/lightning connector?

I just hate to spend money on parts if im going to end up with a paperweight. I havent opened it up yet to check for loose connections since i didnt want to risk damaging the lcd, but that might be my next move.