Update:
I received some good info from Rick and decided to order one of his units as suggested by eschaider, but as luck would have it, they'd just sold their last one and might not have more for a month or so.
Being a bit stubborn and probably a touch OCD, I didn't want to go that long with this thing bothering me.
So...I pulled the unit apart and lubed up all the moving parts and with a great deal of effort, managed to get it all back together again (sort of a square peg, round hole type of thing) and it works great. Holds in position for turns in either direction, and cancels smartly upon completion of the turn. Might work for another 13 years, or might crap out tomorrow. The fix was relatively simple though, so for those having similar issues, I'd recommend spending an hour and a few drops of
oil before tossing it in the trash.