I did end up using a DPST switch and it worked out great. The monitor would go into deep sleep, and seem "off" the marquee would turn off, and the PI would wait for the switch to turn back on. Once turned on, it would wake the screen and the marquee would come on at the same time. It works well!

I think it's always going to report both joysticks as being present since the controller is physically present. It likely doesn't care if you have anything hooked to it or not.

Thanks a lot, this did end up solving my problem! The power function of the ControlBlock was working fine and my soldering wasn't too horrible, so I was hoping it was something simple.

@petrockblog You might want to add a bit more explanatory wording to the Control Block installation page. It might be intuitive to most, but I missed it, too, initially.

Thanks for all the help.

I decided to just add OEM NES ports as it turned out to be one of the cheapest options sans changing out the cords on an OEM NES controller.

something new? Does somebody make xml file for controlblock ? Thx

@GtBFilms this is exactly what I needed to know. Thanks very much.

Just to mention it here as well :-) The ControlBlock allows to directly connect arcade controls (which are mapped to gamepads) for two players as well as a power switch functionality to safely switch on and off the raspberry pi.

Success! Thanks for the help.
Something must have gone wrong with the initial make when I ran through the instructions the 1st time.
What I did to fix it.
I re-pulled the updates and upgrades and got everything clean.
I removed and re-pulled the PowerBlock directory.
Followed the make and install.

Everything works properly now. Thanks for the help.

I'm using one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0094GWD9W

It's an illuminated latching switch, rather than a rocker, but I've not had any issues with it (and gave a couple to other guys for their powerswitches and they both reported they worked fine)

You should have received a shipping notification by now. Otherwise, please contact me via email with your order number and I will check the status of your order!

The configuration of the ControlBlock driver does not have an influence on this. Sounds as if the switch is wired backwards.

@petrockblog @fireraisr so, I just reinstalled retropie for the umpteen-millionth time, and control block is no longer recognizing my d-pad with the latest config. I am about to go the USB route, but it would muck up the presentation of the SNES game pads from the SNES itself. Any ideas?
Edited to add: just ran justest /dev/input/js1 (where it recognizes the SNES controller) and the only button it recognizes is the B button. I know this is wired correctly and that all the wiring is still properly connected (just tested with multimeter to be sure). SPI is enabled, I have updated, and rebooted multiple times.
Final edit- I am an idiot- forgot to edit /etc/controlblock.cfg to uncomment sees. ::face palm:: Everything is back in order. Mahalo!

@darkav map both players coin buttons together there are games where the players have to add coins to their own slots. It kept people from stealing credits

@zeus same here. my new board just came in, but haven't had a chance to test it out!

You might find the information that you are looking for in the post at https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/2183/powerblock-dimensions-how-high-is-the-micro-usb-port/3.

I had the same problem - controls working in every other emulator except SNES. I checked the config folder for SNES and 1 of the CFG files (not sure if it was emulators or retroarch) was 0 KB - I deleted it reboot the pi and it remade a new CFG file - hey presto controls now working. :-)

Glad to hear that you are making progress!

@bengoodson The amp can go anywhere!