A damaged CF slot could definitely cause problems, especially if a pin is missing and the card shows damage. The flashing blue light is the camera’s activity/file-transfer indicator, so one possibility is that the camera thinks it is connected for data transfer or is stuck trying to access the card.

Based on the suggestions given, try these basics:

• Connect a USB cable to the camera, power it on, then disconnect the cable to see if it exits a transfer state.
• Clean the external ports carefully in case debris is making the camera think a cable is connected.
• Check or replace the small coin-cell backup battery as well.

If the CF pin is truly missing, that is likely a hardware fault and may prevent normal operation or card access. Avoid inserting that CF card again, since both the slot and card may already be damaged. At that point, the camera likely needs professional repair, and you’d also want to test with a known-good CF card only after the slot is confirmed undamaged.