I was thinking a little about doing something like that although I am not sure I would have come up with it. When I was troubleshooting that I had power to the heating element but not past it I had advanced the timer with a 1/4" drive ratchet and extension. I was using the ratchet to advance the timer so I didn't have to wait very long to see what was happening. I kept touching the heating element but it never got hot. Since the dishwasher wasn't attached to the countertop I couldn't easily get into the back part of the inside of the dishwasher to see the hole in the element without it tipping.
We always run the hot water before using the dishwasher because it is over 30' away from the water heater. I will turn the water heater, which is electric, up. One of the advantages with these dishwashers is that you can leave the water heater temperature down as the dishwasher will heat up the water. But only if the heating element works.
I appreciate your keeping a lookout for a heating element.
Thanks again,
Hal