Sony SL-2000 no playback

[MIPS]

I've been using this VTR about once or twice a year since 2014 when I bought it and aside from an up and down jitter that a time base corrector was able to clean up (a subtle indication that the tape advancement wasn't a constant speed?) I wasn't having any issues with it. Today however I pull it out and see how long the battery will cycle for but it wouldn't even play the tape.

You fast forward and rewind and it's fine so the spindles and brakes aren't locked up. You press play and it doesn't move. After a moment it aborts. You press play and fast forward and it still doesn't move. You press play and do a quick review and I get about one rotation of the tape before it stops again. Record mode isn't any better.
I'd blame it on a bad belt or two but the SL-2000 is direct drive. The only belt in the machine is on the mechanism to wrap the tape around the drum and I replaced that in 2014 and it's still going strong. I did open it and it's still somewhat dismantled on the bench right now and there's no binding or stickyness in the mechanism anywhere. lubing the spindles and break solenoid didn't improve anything. It's like the motor drive circuit for playback is almost totally dead or the coil current is extremely weak. Outside of the dozens of small lytics scattered everywhere is there anything else I should check?

[Electronic M]

The capstan spindle is probably the shaft of a flat direct drive motor. If there is a surface mount lytic on that motor board, change it. I had a similar problem (capstan would randomly stop) with a similar Sony Beta and that cap cured it.

Remove the rotor of the motor before soldering because if you burn it's plastic rim (which is a magnetic feed back to the motor speed control) while changing the cap it will develop permanent tracking error.

[MIPS]

Thankfully the VCR is so old that there are no surface mount components used. Just lots and lots of radial capacitors.