ok got in there finally.. saw no loose connections, so i went into the fuse box.. got the vx to start with no ac/heat controls at all, so i started pulling fuses and re-inserting to see if that would cure it.. nope

moved on to relays.. as soon as i pulled the relay marked "heater" in the engine fuse box i got all sorts of fun noises.. put it back in and the AC was working.. so ill see if maybe it was a bad connection.. if it happens again ill replace the relay