Since I stupidly forgot before, Tammi, Thank you so much for your tips! As far as the slide plate is concerned, yeah, we went ahead and bought a NEW one. There was one on ebay for $14, but frankly, it looked like crap. It was bent and deeply scratched -- just very unattractive! While I was sure I could polish up and eliminate the bad appearance to an extent, I didn't want to mess with one that was bent!
Thank you, very much. Your expertise and your kind assistance is greatly appreciated. If I can ever help you, I will be happy to have you call upon me. Problem is -- you're so much smarter about these old machines -- I'm still a rank amateur! Again, I appreciate your help!
Jeanette