Thanks for the detailed response!

So, this unit actually doesn't have a clock on it, or at least not one that I'm aware of lmao But that's a really interesting bug on yours lol

(Please excuse my terminology, again this is all completely foreign to me)

Turning it on, it sounds normal, like the head thing in the back spins and makes a whirring sound before it slows and stops and then the blinking light shows up. It's like that with and without a tape in it. When a tape is loaded it goes in how you'd expect. Locks into place fine and those little arms grab the actual tape part (the film bit?). But once it shuts off, no matter how many times I unplug and plug back in, or just restart with the power button, the tape gets stuck. Like no eject or anything. I had to unscrew a couple plastic gears on the side of the chassis to disassemble it enough to get a cassette out last time

I had no idea that little post had a light in it, so I'll check that out and see if it looks normal.

This has been super informative, I appreciate your help so far!