I had 2 elements, and tested both, 1 was mesuring 15ohms tip to tip, the other mesured 0 ohms..obviously now I know that the 15 ohms one is the good one.....question is, what can possibly fail in an element, seems to be just a peice of steel with 2 screws on it....

Maybe think of it as a light bulb?

Only instead of getting bright, it gets hot. Just as filiments in light bulbs burn out, so do heating elements.