You said you performed steps 1-4 in the S.B. When you get to step 4, do you get a switch closure at jumpering? Read the responses in step #4 in bold. Remember you must be in switch test as indicated in step #1

Yes, your ball is not being registered as a lock because switch #45 is not being recognized.
The instructions say to short the column (GRN-XXX, where XXX is the color of the wire stripe) to the row (WHT-XXX, where XXX is the color of the wire stripe for the row)

Both lock optos use the same column so both switch #45 and #46 receiver should have one green wire with a blue stripe. Each switch receiver should also have a white wire with a stripe. #45 switch wire row return is a white wire with blue stripe . ( #46 row is a white wire with green stripe)

Shorting the white wire with blue stripe to the the green wire with a blue stripe is the only way to activate switch #45. If this does not happen, then there is no way the opto can trigger it even if the switch is perfectly working. Until you can make that switch closure with the row and column manually, it's useless to troubleshoot the opto. Also, If the color of the wires are incorrect, you'll need to trace them back to the other switches to figure out why.

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You don't need any that are special or "rare" - but definitely not infrared. I repaired one of mine by cannibalizing a camper's headlamp to steal a bright visible red spectrum LED from it. Works great!

What's wrong with the receiver? There's not a lot of components there, so really the only reason to replace the board is if it is missing, or severely damaged. Remember too, that it is just a switch. You could even replace it with a suitable infrared pair or rebuild the receiver from scratch if you can't locate the exact part.

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That's a great game, I'd be bumming if mine were down. Glad you got it going!

Opto's are a fine solution - in principle. No moving parts to wear out and no friction with the ball. The problems are more with mounting, the execution of the design, than with the fact they are optical switches. With a better design from the start in regards to a rigid mount that keeps the opto aligned, and some better wiring attachment resistant to vibration, and nobody would be talking about "all the opto problems with Maverick". Mine work perfectly. Optical switches are used everywhere in modern technology, and there's no reason for them to not be able to work in a pinball machine.

I don't see anything missing, although tough to see under the metal lip of the bracket. This assembly is all you need. I replaced my LED on this transmitter board with an LED from a camping headlamp (Maverick uses visible light LEDs, not infrared) and has been perfect ever since. All you have to do is make certain the assembly doesn't move and can aim the light through the hole to the other opto.

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The black and gray are opto transmitter ground and +5VDC power, there isn't anything to correct there. The reason they are "fused" together, is the transmitting optos (the one that lights up red) all get the same power and this is daisy chained from one transmitter opto to the next. The RECIEVER optos that pick up the light beam have the corresponding switch row and column colors (wht/xxx and grn/xxx) When the light beam is broken by the ball, the row and column become connected, just like a mechanical switch.

https://arcarc.xmission.com/Pinball/Stern%20Service%20Bulletins/sb/sb67.pdf