Troubles:

- on startup, the Acer logo background(the white part) is tinted red, but quickly fades after a second or so,

and, or

- display has been flickering slightly, but the picture doesn't go completely away, it just flickers

finally

the screen completely blacked out, but the computer was still running

Look closely and if you can see the display you have a chance.

The solution:

Your backlight is dying or dead. You can replace either the backlight itself or the entire screen assembly. While the backlight on its own is much cheaper than an entire LCD panel/assembly, it is significantly more finicky to install(but you can find many how to that will guide you on the net). Furthermore, Acer provides service manuals where you can maybe found this operation.