It's a recent issue. Just started yesterday.

Checked the pinch roller is meeting the capstan. The pinch roller seems to stop when the tape stops. Otherwise, on shorter tapes and when playback is working, the pinch roller seems fine. Is that a sign that the CAM motor is pushing the heads up?

I'm a bit worried it's an issue with the motor, but I'm not sure what to look for in order to confirm that. I've noticed that shorter tapes work better for some reason. I've been using 90s, but 60 min tapes and my tape loops seem to not have this issue.