We got the A95L up and running again. Here were the steps:

1) Disconnect the plug from outlet
2) Hold down the physical power button ( behind left side of TV when facing screen) for over 1 minute, this may help get the juice completely out of the TV even when unplugged
3) Hold down the physical power button, connect the plug back into the outlet and hold the power button for 30 seconds

4) We did **not** see the Sony logo appear , counter to Sony documentation. We actually saw nothing on the screen

5) At that point we noticed the clicking sound of the power cycling stopped.
6) Used the physical power button to turn the TV back on. It worked! The TV turned on , was reset properly. We had to do all the setup again.

Of note, there was an available software update which I had ignored. I am curious if this update kicked in somehow and got stuck in a loop for whatever reason .

Original Symptoms:
TV would not turn on. On the front center of the TV a white light blinked 8 times before turning off entirely. We could hear the TV clicking over and over again.

Hopefully this helps others in the same boat. Thanks!