Old trick:
Use an AM battery portable and tune to an empty area on the lower end of the AM band. Power the Arduino board with the AM radio on and the internal antenna placed near the 328P... Adjust both volume and tuning to pick up some of the digital signal ... Then try to load a sketch... You will be able to hear the reset.You may wish to try this on your breadboard FIRST to get the hang of what you are listening for... The PC board should work the same. An UNO will be different in that it has 2 uCs.
I still think the xtal may be pulled off frequency. You can try some flux remover with an old toothbrush to clean it up... A hairdryer on low heat will evaporate the alcohol and any water contained in the scrub down.
I will try this. But, I have to wait till Monday before I can get a hold of an AM receiver. I am inclined to agree with you. I really can't find anything else wrong.
Do you see any indication that auto-reset is actually working? Stick an LED on "D 13" and see whether it does the "quick blinks" when you start an upload. Maybe stick some LEDs are RX/TX as well, if your USB/Serial converter doesn't already have them (if it DOES have them, do they flash?)
This sort of minimum board is swell when you design and procedures are all finalized, but it's a bit primitive when it comes to debugging...
I'm still suspecting an auto-reset problem. Can you get it to upload at all using a manual reset?
I am sure that reset is being pulled low. I have tested it with a meter and checked with an LED. I tried the manual reset and when I get it right I get the same 0x30 error message. When I get it wrong I get 0x00.