[Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note II] TallgeeseIV:
So I'm having a strange issue. I've already checked multiple threads, here and on other forums, most notably this one: http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-note-2/263592-note-2-wont-charge.html

I read every post and no one has my exact issue. So here's the story:

I smashed my screen to bits on concrete, but I have the insurance so Asurion sent me another one. I'm not certain it's refurbished but It did not come in the same packaging my original one from the VZW store did so I'd say it probably is.

I made a backup of my rom using TWRP (Clean Rom VZW Edition - JB 4.1.1)

Then I got my new phone out and checked it and it was running the vramc3 version, so i tried to root/unlock/install recovery via the NoYou exploit. This failed due to driver issues, then after that was sorted out, failed again due to a partitioning issue. ("error: partition 60 blah blah...") So I tried to odin back to stock without realizing the newest firmware had to be flashed using the alternate stock rom for unlocked bootloaders (even though mine was not unlocked) so i flashed that and it worked, i was on the original stock firmware again. however the older version of the exploit for the stock firmware did not work (i'm assuming because the bootloader wasn't actually rolled back even though the firmware was) so i downloaded the ota updates and got back to vramc3 and tried the NoYou exploit again and it worked, so i had root, recovery, and an unlocked bootloader.

Because my old phone and new phone have different serial numbers, I modified the folder name and .log file entries of the TWRP backup of the old serial number to be the new phone serial number. This worked and my phone was restored. For 3 days it charged just fine, and then last night and all throughout today, I've been testing it after noticing it doesn't charge when connected to an a/c outlet, and does not recognize a connection to my pc..... SOMETIMES. Sometimes it works right away, other times it takes 10 minutes of being plugged in before it recognizes it. and other times it'll sit for an hour and never figure it out. All without me moving it around too, i really don't see how it could be a cable connection issue. I tried my old phone on the old and new samsung official a/c charges and both work flawlessly every time, so i'm certain the cables are good.

So i did some more testing. I tried doing a factory reset with the rom still installed. Still had charging issues. I tried wiping everything except my external sd card and installing the latest version of the rom which is based on the vramc3 update (fresh install, not using my backup), still doesn't always charge...

I didn't yank the cable out, drop the phone, or mishandle it in anyway in the past 3 days, and the leads for the usb connection on the phone don't appear to be damaged. I also tried moving the cable around the connection while plugged in to see if something wasn't making contact and it didn't make a difference. I also now have 2 batteries, both hold a charge perfectly fine, and charge perfectly fin in the old phone so I don't think it's related to them either, and I have tried the new phone with both batteries. So here's the question....

Is this a firmware issue, or a usb port issue? I still have the old phone and if it's a usb port issue i'll just swap it with the old one, but i'd prefer not to take it apart until someone more qualified to speak on the matter tells me that it's the problem, haha.

And if it's a firmware issue, what the hell do i do? since I have recovery operational, i was going to try a few other roms just to see if anything changes while i'm waiting for replies.

Pleeease help, as you can probably tell by the length of this post, this is driving me insane.