I am glad to hear you've made some progress Morningstar. I do remember the red dot from a similar machine I had. I don't remember it being so complicated to do a zig zag though, so perhaps Elnan is on to something - perhaps there is one spot that didn't get oiled and that is causing you the problems. Hopefully you can at least view all the manual pages and find the oiling diagram.
So this is a portable in a cabinet? That explains the difficulty removing it. I'm surprised there are instructions in the manual showing how to do that, I'll have to check that out after I send this. I always thought a portable was destined to remain a portable. But what do I know?
Please keep us informed. And if you get a second, I'd love to see this home made cabinet system!