Final answer:
The sentence provided does not contain a linking verb or a predicate noun/adjective, but a rewrite with 'was' as the linking verb and 'crowded' as the predicate adjective is possible.
Step-by-step explanation:
Linking verbs act as connectors between the subject of the sentence and a subject complement, which is either a noun phrase or adjective that describes or defines the subject. In the sentence 'Thanks for the dismal weather, the mall stayed crowded all weekend', the main focus is to identify the linking verb and the predicate noun or predicate adjective. However, in this particular sentence, there is no explicit linking verb or subject complement.
The verb 'stayed' is an action verb here, indicating what the mall did, and does not perform the connecting function of a linking verb. If we were to rewrite the sentence with a linking verb, it could be: 'Thanks to the dismal weather, the mall was crowded all weekend.' In this rewritten sentence, 'was' is the linking verb connecting the subject 'mall' to the predicate adjective 'crowded'.