You got a schematic? I'd help, but none are quickly available online due to Gottlieb's kibosh on them. If it takes a while for something to work, you are having thermal expansion issues.

Without a schematic handy, my guess is that it sound like something is not making contact until it heat enough and expands. You've most likely just got a cold solder joint somewhere in the area of that relay. It is that, or a cap that interacts with the circuit is dried out and not retaining any juice.

Go for it, nobody here is going to bother you.

Step one,do all ground mods! You will find alot of your electrical gremlins will disappear. On a gottlieb until you do that you will be chasing your tail, I did for a month.