Sylvania VC2210/ RCA VFT190/193 top loader troubles

[Jeff]

A while back, I took this vcr off someone's hands while it was still working, but then at some point after that, the video output became garbled, so I shelved it. Now that I've come back to it, one of two things happen: the take-up reel spins for a few seconds before it acts as if the stop button has been pressed, or the take up reel will continue spinning, and it will show an image for or a moment or two before losing sync, and it will continue showing the out of sync picture. If I get it to "play" without a tape inserted, the snow on the screen becomes brighter, and blinks on and off, so I know it's not a tape sensing issue. I was wondering if this was worth bothering with, as I tried to find another working vcr with the same chassis to help diagnose, but it appears as though every one I come across is completely dead.