The old 3.6v alkaline batteries on these specific MVS boards pretty much always leak their crystalline death across the parts side of the board. At minimum give the parts side around the battery a rinse with rubbing alcohol. One should use white vinegar to neutralise the alkaline leakage...
That's the Real Time Clock chip not working. Could be a bad 32.768khz crystal oscillator, a bad D4990 RTC chip, the related 74HC32 could be bad or it's battery damage that's eaten traces connecting all those parts together.
https://wiki.neogeodev.org/index.php?title=UPD4990
You could use a...
I don't have one so I can't comment on it
But I did see a sale thread at atariage for a backbit pro cart with 7 adapters for $150.
https://forums.atariage.com/topic/367123-eightbits-memorial-day-weekend-sale-aka-help-eightbit-buy-some-other-junk-he-doesnt-need/
Channelmaniac is a pillar of the community, stick with it, he'll get your board back to you eventually.
Maybe also use his website arcade components.com for communication, wouldn't kill you to use official means to talk...