I have a modified a copy of the u-boot boot loader, and I have it loaded and running (in RAM) on my bricked k4nt, thanks to
yinfalu. So far, I patched only the boot message identifying the u-boot version (replacing "Yifan Lu patch" with "geekmaster mod") and the boot message from the serial port changed accordingly, proving that we are running "custom" boot loader code.
It even gets farther into the boot process, saying that it tested RAM successfully (which does not happen "normally" on this bricked kindle).
Now I have to modify the boot loader to force the board ID so it can initialize it and continue booting.
Once I get farther along in the boot process, I should be able to use idme to rewrite the board ID and serial number (I hope).
Anyway, do not discard your "hopelessly" bricked devices. This recover method is making rapid progress (thanks to the hard work of Yifan Lu). This is a k4nt, but it should work on the Touch as well. Thanks!
Here is the output captured from the serial port when I upload the patched u-boot using the Freescale MfgTool:
Normal (ROM) boot:
yinfalu's patch:
geekmaster's patch: