OK. It's time to call it.
Bernina 730 Record: Time of Death 7:39 pm 8-29-14
This is a no-go. Not gonna happen. I DID change out the camstack gear and thought all was going well. I moved forward with some cleaning, oiling, and went on to try and adjust the needle. THAT's a bear. But while still in the process of trying to loosten these age old screws holding the upright tower to the base I found that the OTHER gear is now cracking.
That upright gear is just more expense for a machine that has cost me too much already. I'm looking at a donor machine.
Rest in pieces.