ok doctor lapse.
what next?
umm wait a sec .......... what does lapse of reason imply anyway

Take a wire and hold it on "RC" and hold the other end on the "W"

RC has the red wire attached to it (upper right) W has the grayish wire attached to it (lower right).

Be careful not to jiggle the wires you are holding around and accidently touch one of the other terminals otherwise you might short out the transformer and then have no 24v.

Those wires you are messing with are 24v so no big deal. If you have some small alligator clips, they work best...otherwise open the screw and attach the wire behind the screw.

Did you jump the R and W wires yet ?

Oh ya, I would prefer you go by the furnace and find the same 24v wires attached to the furnace because that way you are eliminating the WIRING and the T-STAT. By jumpering the wires at the T-stat, you could still have the same problem because you might have a problem with the wiring in the wall...

Find the furnace, turn off the line voltage (switch or circuit breaker), take bottom blower door off, locate the low voltage thermostat wiring connections. Find the R and W, jumper wire them together, install door back on, turn on line voltage power supply and stand back ...LOL see what happens.

If he kills himself are we responsible?

Unless he sticks his fingers in the blower or wall socket, I think we are OK. . . LMAO

holy chit that hurt
j/k

got a pm from Bossman with his phone number.
he walked me thru several possible causes and how to fix/diagnose them.

told me how to jump the stat from inside the furnace.
how to gently clean the sensor that the flame flows by.
and ............ what is probably the culprit. a clogged coil.
had trouble cooling the house last summer also.
soooooo , back down to the freezer called a basement with new found knowledge.

thankyou so much Rich (Bossman) and everyone else too!
OSO is a great place

Well, get it fixed and let us know what was wrong.

I am going home

Mine did that it kept bumping the limit switch. Then shutting off. Good luck