PPCGeeks - broken power button

hi all.. long story short, the power button on my EVO stopped working a while ago. i've upgraded since then, but would like to use the EVO at home as a remote (xbmc and samsung apps from market). anywho, soon after it broke i got it to turn on a few times, since then, i've been busy and haven't had time to really mess with it. Now that I do have time, i'd like to press on with this project. The problem is that i don't remember what exactly i did to get it to turn on. i remember holding the vol +- buttons, plugging the phone in to the computer, it vibrates five times. Then i removed the battery (while still holding the buttons), re-insert the battery, unplug it, and released the buttons... Somehow it'd turn on (most times into bootlader, but i'd have to do it over again because i wasn't able to get out of bootlader).

All that said, now, with more times on my hands, i just can't figure out how to get it to power on again. once i managed to get to bootlader, but was stuck there since the power button doesn't work.

any and all suggestions are welcome.

*** SOLVED *** :-D

thank you,
-u