Sometimes it really *IS* the simple stuff... do you have another mouse to test? There are components and an I.C. inside the mouse that can fail (unlikely, but I have run across "dead" mice). Are the female pins okay? Not completely recessed causing lack of good contact from some oaf clumsily inserting it in and out? lol
Before mucking up your mobo, do you know how to check those caps? Use your DMM and make sure they are not the culprit. Look for a reading of (going by memory here) .1-.4 on the diode test (not continuity) function of your DMM. Basically, measure both sides of each capacitor and look for a shorted or way out of spec cap compared to the others. That'll be your culprit. Same with testing the diodes. Reverse the leads though for them. + to - will read .4-.5 (or whatever the consensus is), but when reversed, your DMM should test open. When reversing the leads and the DMM shows anything other than an opposite effect (ie: small current from the DMM itself OR no current the other way) - you've got a bad diode.
Not sure where else that 74HCT157 could be, should be close to the ports though I'd imagine. Still, check the caps and diodes first before attempting to replace an IC - for which you really should be using a logic probe for anyway. You know... hi-lo, pulse - that sort of thing.