That won't affect an output signal, old wires don't do that. Yes a scope would show you what you are hearing. Due to the feedback present in this amp a scope can't tell you where the problem originates, but Joe has talked me through problems like this when using a scope based on the scope image. I am not that good yet. He can see a scope image and tell you WHY it looks the way it does.
Where you had a short between the collector and a heatsink, that can affect quite a bit, from the backplanes to the driver board. Does your offset voltage climb as your output goes up?