that's the thing.. the fob stopped work last week, so i used one i got with the remote start that i had installed months ago. So the fob may be a clue to wtf is wrong here.

The other remote (fromt he starter) worked fine.. so i thought the nissan fob was faulty.. but maybe there's something else to it.

Though i haven't noticed any other electrical problems.. if i lock them by hand, and that disengages the alarm.. perhaps it's the alarm that's the problem.. i'm not sure.