2004 Lariat.. Climate control buttons became inoperative and of course heater was stuck on high. Finally got the heat off after hitting the buttons hundreds of times. Nothing works now. Anyone run into this issue? Would replacing the climate control fix this?

 

This "sounds" like the same common issue for another car I have.
In these un-named cars the climate controls do mostly the same thing you are describing when they start failing.
The problem is usually age.
Over time micro-cracks form in the solder of the contacts until it no longer works.
In the cars in question, the fix is to open the control module & carefully "re-float" the solder contacts.
Or send the module out for repair if you burn your fingers more than fixing it. (or.... so I have heard)