Nakamichi Dragon

I remember well when the call went out that Nakamichi would stop making parts for and servicing the Dragon. The main issue at hand seemed to be desiccation of diodes. I had no need at the time and remarkably (especially since I live in the desert) my Dragon has performed famously right up until three days ago. Suddenly, it began detecting resistance before the end of the tape and auto-reversed or stopped. After a day or less it behaved this way from the very beginning of the tape. I am completely naive, but it strikes me that this could be a mechanical problem that might be fixable without the need for parts that are no longer available. My question is "how" or perhaps better still "is there anyone out there anywhere who is competent to work on it?" I sure could use advice!

Ironically, this all started when I finally decided to digitize my vintage tapes, knowing for years that both the deck and the tapes had finite lifespans. It had been playing flawlessly right up until I only barely got started digitizing. Predictable, right?