Well I got ‘er buttoned up.
What ended up working, is removing and greasing the outermost gear that @hosejockey61 mentioned. Strange, since I hadn’t touched it before, but that seems to have fixed the issue so I can’t complain.
I might live with the cracked gear housing for now, depending on if I can track down a used one. Also will buy/fab a bracket for the contactor so it’s not crooked.
Thank you all for the help.