My doors open about halfway and then they need an assist the rest of the way. prety sure thats kind of how it was when it was new, most likely the grease down in the hinge mechanism is still ok. One thing that happen on the tape side is the lid alignment goes away in part because of the back spreing pushing against it for twenty + years. Also the roll hinge pins At the back of the lid become out of kilter - again from the backspring pressure. The screws just mount into the plastic frame and break free allowing the pins to move.
No unsoldering needed in removing the tape mechanism. Really not that tough a job. The hardest part is cleaning up all the old belt goop.
