I have 2 of these units, the first one I repaired was easy, someone had terminated the lo with the wrong value, around 300 ohms if I recall correctly. It still has a thermal problem, shuts down after running for a while, it is the silicone heat sink compound on the microprocessor heat sink, when it gets old it turns to a powder and does not work as well, I will attempt to repair both units at the same time taking lots of photos, the interior as you stated is extremely dense.
I plan on attempting this when my work schedule allows me some bench time.
I am grateful for all the tips and assistance. This is a great site.