How important is the finger print scanner connection?

We replaced the battery in this phone before with no issues, but had trouble reconnecting the finger print scanner. When I opened it to replace the battery again, I do not think that the finger print scanner was plugged (we must have thought we got it plugged in and didn't - or it was plugged in and just looked like it wasn't).

When I attempted to reconnect the screen to the phone, the finger print scanned plug broke off. So, assuming it truly was just for the finger print sensor, we proceeded with reassembly, since that feature is not used by us. The display connection went back it great.

However, now that the phone is booted and charging, the touch screen is not working (the screen blips like it knows it was touched, but the options are not activating). Is this because that fingerprint scanner connection was damaged? Or is this likely related to the other problems I've seen listed where people's touch is no longer working after a repair?