Prius won't start after burning smell, need help!!

2004 Prius with 228,000 miles. Won't turn on. Can't put into neutral.

Last week the Red Triangle was intermittently coming ON and OFF. Before I could get any code from from my OBD reader using the TORQUE app, the light would turn off. I assumed it was the big battery as it has been many times before. I thought maybe a bad contact on the bus bars of the traction battery. This went on for several days with me trying to get a error code to no avail.

Well it wasn't the traction battery as I found out when I drove home at noon on a hot day last week.
On opening the door we could smell rubber or a plastic burning smell. My wife said she saw smoke coming out of the hood on the passenger side. I ran into the garage thinking it was something burning in the garage, but it was the car. When I got back in it to try and turn it on, the combination meter/gauge started blinking (all the lights) and then went off and the Start button was blinking red. I can push the start button ONE TIME and the screen comes on and the Windows and door locks work, but if I press it again, it crashes. The car could not be put into neutral.

I had it towed to the dealership and they said it needed a combination meter because it would not turn on and so they couldn't get any codes. They wanted $1500 for this. I had it towed back and took the meter out and sent it to be repaired. The shop could not find anything wrong with it, although I think they just checked the capacitors that are known to fail.

I thought it was the inverter and I ordered a used one. When I took the cover off the old one (still in the car) it was perfectly clean with no signs of smoke or anything burned. I'm stopping here and am not sure what to do next except install a refurbished combo meter/gauge from Texas Hybrids and see if I can get it into ACC mode to AT LEAST retrieve an error code but should I find what burned first? Could it have been the electric motor of the synergy drive? I'm very confused now.

(you can see the pics of inside the inverter. It looks VERY clean)

 

I thought I posted in the Gen 2 forum. Don't know how that happened.
I did replace the inverter coolant pump 5 years ago off amazon
I'm not sure why my combination meter went out though right after the smoke.
So are you saying that after replacing the combo meter I should do this procedure before trying to turn it on?