i've fixed the problem by jamming a paper clip and twisting around until the speakers worked again.
Turns out the problem is a hardware failure of the jack's sensing pin. I looked inside and indeed one side of the jack had been flattened out more than the jack for the microphone.
the issue is described here if anyone ever has this issue
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3517/p/19341418/19730984.aspx
unfortunately the only real solution is to replace the headphone jack which many times involves replacing the motherboard. time to find myself a service tag.
for me the tiny speaker was more important than the headphone jack for now since I only use this laptop to walk around my house and watch silly videos from time to time