There are times when the box closes and hits Jackie in the head on purpose. Jackie says "You wouldn't hit a guy in the head with a steel ball" or "You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses". This is normal.

I don't know about the slow lid opening - it sounds like something is heating up though so I suspect connections.

If no binding problems buy some cold spray from an electronics store. If the box works correctly after a shot of cold you've at least localized the problem.

A common problem with the box is too high kick out setting and the ball hits the left side of the box and bounces out. You can adjust this in settings (about 80 lower will do it). I'm just posting this for new owner's - has nothing to do with your problem.

I would disconnect the linkage then manually raise the box lid to make sure there are no binding issues - just to rule that out.
Then make sure the lid is opening enough - if it's not there's weight that's not on the hinge but up to the coil to overcome - my Jeep hood is somewhat heavy but light once it's raised to a certain point. Then I'd look for slop in the linkage or mal adjusted linkage.