spectralcanine:
All of the parts seem to heat up unreasonably, especially the 16Mhz...resonator? (not sure what the correct name is)
When the board is powered via USB? With only a USB cable connected to the board?
When directly connecting the pins of a USB cable to Vin, GND, TX and RX, the computer knows something was connected, but can't talk to it.
In every way, shape, and form that is a bad idea. Don't do that again.