I don't have any information on what Gottlieb used. The main concern will be the load resistors they used on the driver, the load resistors will provide the proper forward voltage to the IR Emitter and if this voltage exceeds the MAX forward voltage of the IR emitter (1.7V for the QED123) will eventually ruin the emitter.
Ideally if you have the Gothlieb part number you can look at the spec sheet to make a determination on what you need; if that's not available, the best thing you can do is take a voltage measurement across one of the working Gottlieb IR emitters to see what they are using for drive voltage, and if that's within the operational range of the QED123 (~ .8V - 1.5V) than you are good to go.