[jmohn]

I think you described it very well, Wil. It's now clear to me; and it's also clear to me I can't be of any assistance with my description of the manual control cable, sorry. However I still see no reason why that cable (or cables) or lever should be difficult to move. On yours the auto-heat moves the cable by means of a small servo motor, correct? So there would be no need to have the mechanism held by friction (there are friction washers on the levers of the manual version), the motor will hold the cable at whatever position it stops at, it wouldn't tend to "drift" off position like the manual levers could.

I hope someone who has diagnosed this and fixed it will jump in with a solution.

Good luck,

Jerry M
'78 SC