does that say max on the knob to the right? if so thats your recirculate button.
if you turn the defroster on even in the winter, the a/c clutch should also come on.
Yes the compressor does kick on when defrosting and it defrosts perfectly. And yes it is max. Sorry I guess I misread your last post. I'll have access to a garage at 5, so I'll take the dash apart and check everything.