What could prevent a battery from being recognized by the computer?

HI there,

I have a MacBook Air ("Core 2 Duo" 1.86 13" (NVIDIA) , Late 2008 - MB940LL/A - MacBookAir2,1 - A1304 - 2253*) which was plugged in when my friend's house was hit by lightning. When I got it, the battery indicator said Replace Now, so I did that and noticed that the battery was very swollen and should be replaced. The thing is that it works fine when plugged into the wall, but the battery indicator says "No Battery". So, I thought I must have bought a bad battery. So I got another and installed it but it did the exact same thing. Then I thought, maybe it's a charging issue, so I also replaced the DC in board which didn't make a difference. The funny thing is that the machine will stay on for a few minutes when I disconnect the charger cord, which is showing green, btw, but won't boot without it attached. It was doing that before I replaced the DC board.

Any ideas what I am overlooking here? Remember there was a lightning strike involved. Or is that just a red herring?

Thanks!!!

Bodhi