I finally had more time to look at my 4th Aether.
On the LED shown in the pic, Pin R- was going to ground.
On U2, Pins 1, 2, 3 where showing .06 ohm and pin 5,6 were going to ground.
I decided to remove the U2 chip. (I am pretty sure this is what was smoking when power is on.)
With U2 removed, LED pin R- no longer shows ground.
Also, pads for pins 1,2,3 all show no ground now. Pads 4 and 5 still go to ground which is consistent with the other two constant power circuits.
This leads me to believe the U2 chip is the cause of the problem and not the LED.
What else should I look for? I didn't see any shorts under U2 after removing the chip. Maybe the chip was damaged which is why pins 1,2,3 had a readout. I am going to order replacement U2, but maybe I should replace D1, the capacitors and resistors while I am at it. Thoughts?