Battery life: Maybe really a hardware issue?

[bcnaz]

Yes, the modem is on a USB connection but I think for power it's connected direct to the battery and the dip switch actually pulls a signal down on one of the modem's pins to deactivate it. (This is half-remembered from reading about the hardware some time ago.) For now I'll just leave the battery out of the phone when not in use though as I said it's a bit of a PITA.

Okay, it's been about 10 hours. I turned the phone back and and the battery level has not changed.

I guess this confirms the modem is still draining power from the battery even while turned off.

I have noticed the charger "Cord"  can make a huge difference, 
The original cord seems the most efficient of my several different cords.
  My 6 foot woven cloth cord will not even keep up with the discharge if the phone is just turned on.
   **  The cloth cord does look good, but it is practically worthless.