Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Hi there, I'm a noob in need of some help. Spent the day with a soldering iron and built up my first two kits. Confidence booster went perfectly, so moved on to the FET preamp. Build went well, without any major problems; I had to remove and reinstall the wires for the DC jack as the instructions had me put them in from the bottom up, which made installing the PCB into the enclosure really difficult, so I removed them and put them in the top, with solder on the bottom. Pedal actually sounds awesome; the EQ section is amazing and all i'd hoped for, but the pedal has no boost. When the volume is fully dimed, there is maybe a hint of a boost, but it's barely more than unity gain. Everything seems to be working OK, with exception of the battery hook-up; it doesn't seem to be working. I swapped the IC chips as I'd read that a dud one could be the cause, but it didn't make a difference; EQ section works fine with either IC arrangement, and volume pot still doesn't get much beyond unity. I double-checked I'd not used the bass or treble pot for the volume pot, but it i used the correct pot. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. I've seen this problem a couple of times searching the forums here, and it seems that faulty chips can be the culprit, but since this is essentially my first build, I suspect operator error is more likely in this case. Pics of build attached
Thanks!

I don't see any component placement errors, so my first suggestion would be THIS.

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“My favorite programming language is SOLDER” - Bob Pease (RIP)

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Thanks for quick reply; much appreciated! I'll reflow in the morning with fresh eyes, and let you know how it goes.
jp

OK; so full reflow of entire board, and all wires, just for thoroughness. Fired it up, and exactly the same problem. No change at all. Any other suggestions? Should I post better pictures of any particular component?
Thanks guys; really appreciate the help here.

Whoa! I think I've solved the problem. I was actually accidentally feeding a stereo patch cable into the FET Preamp at the end of a short signal chain. I swapped that out for mono cable, and BAM, mondo boost! Battery now works also!
That was an easy fix. Can anyone explain why the stereo-in was causing that problem? Was it providing an inappropriate ground?