Finally got to the brake problem. Both the brake discs and brake pads seemed to have a semi-dried but sort of sticky, I'll call it brake dust on them. Taking apart the spring loaded assembly revealed an excessively gummy greasy mess that sort of caused the three balls to stick in their graduated slots. I cleaned this assembly and with only an extremely thin coating of hi temp brake grease, assembled it back together. I cleaned the metal brake surfaces with a soft wire wheel and wiped them down with MEK. I did the same to the disc pads. Long story short, the brake works fine now. Disassembly and assembly was relatively easy (not a bad design), The only special tool was a spring remover and installer.