Vermont Castings DVRT36 Remote Issue

I have a Vermont Castings DVRT36 Direct Vent Fireplace. It came with a remote control to turn on the fireplace and adjust the flame and fan speed. A few years back, the remote stopped working and it wasn't an issue with replacing the batteries. The local fireplace shop couldn't really help and mentioned that someone they knew could try and diagnose the remote control but couldn't really guaranty anything. It's not clear to me that I can simply replace the remote control since it has to communicate with the fireplace valve. Has anyone come across this type of problem? Thank you for your suggestions.