Spent a couple of hours searching the mitsu forum for "hydraulics" and noticed a common issue being a stuck piston so I pulled the piston head off last night and sure enough, it was stuck. Kind of makes sense considering the lift was stuck at half way and wouldn't go up or down. I propped up the arms and beat on the piston for a while with a drift and it finally came loose. Some day I need to tear it down and hone the cylinder walls. Need to find a rebuild/seal kit for it. But for now, it's working fine and I've got a driveway to finish so we can get electric in here.
(and upon further thought, I should have said typical gunk, not normal)
(and upon further thought, I should have said typical gunk, not normal)