I got one of these in for repair with this problem and found the problem interesting enough to document. so if you've found this via a google search and it helps your problem, you're welcome also note, if what is described below is your problem, you shouldnt have to disassemble the tascam to repair it. On this model there is only one roller assembly(the rubber wheel that guides your tape, and it rolls on a metal bar) that metal bar was the culprit in this situation, basically the story is this, that metal bar is a pole, on the other side of the pole are some gears, a small flexible washer holds this pole in place and it can wear out, particularly on a unit such as this where gravity is working to pull it down. what to look for: This pin should come up high enough be fairly even with the wheel, if it looks lower than that, with your fingers, gently try to pull it up, if it comes up at all, this was your problem. (note, you may have to turn it slightly so the gear slides into place to get it all the way up) how to fix this problem: the easier solution is find a junk tape player somewhere, if you dont have one, any kind of tape player at all, go check out a goodwill or something. you may have to disassemble the PARTS tape player to get to the washer to safely remove it without damaging it. (inspect it carefully,you will see a tiny gap from which you can kind pry it back gently.) once you have this off, slide it onto the pole on the tascam and slide it down a bit, now pull the pole up as high as it will come up without using force, and slide the washer the rest of the way down. once it clicks into place you're done.
