It is certainly the case that on a Wallstreet, Battery Reset is a crapshoot — or, to put it another way, whether it "takes" or not depends heavily on which way the wind is blowing, the cycle of the moon, and how high the gulls are flying. I had a new-ish Wallstreet battery "re-awaken" this year after 2 years thought dead, during which it just would not charge, no matter how many dozens and dozens of times I tried. Then, I stuck it in one day by mistake, ran battery reset, and all of a sudden, it came to life. Now it gives three+ hours of runtime. Go figure.

It is possible, I suppose, that the backup battery in a Clamshell needs some juice in order for the charge circuitry to do its business, and this is something that you might want to consider.

So, two thoughts: 1) I would persist in the first instance; 2) your old battery may well not be as dead as you think.