Don, there should be a shop around where you live that could fix this for you. It sounds like a nice sander, just might have been hotrodded by a past owner, maybe Tim the Tool Man Taylor!
I've had luck with fixit shops staffed by older folks who were around when some of my vintage woodworking tools were being manufactured. The young guys just look for a manual and replacement part, the older folks came from a generation where you fixed it, not replaced it! Glad no one was seriously hurt!