Well, not much activity on this thread, but I learned a lot and will share my information for future issues other people might have.
The problem was indeed the motor. The gears were locking up and chattering. The moter is a Data East part# 515-5256-00-08 by Bowman Motor, 24V, 60hz, 3W, 11 RPM, CCW. Guess what - nobody worldwide sells this anymore! Even web sites that say it is in stock don't really have it. I ended up getting the Marco Specialties Part 14-7941-3 for about $40. This is intended as a motor for Williams games like BK2000 and Cyclone. It has most of the correct specs...24V, 11 rpm, 60 hz, and it runs Counter Clockwise CCW. The pictures of the original motor is on the left and the replacement new motor on the right.
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