when i pull the lever to unlatch the hood, it doesn't return into place.. so, since i had nothing better to do tonight, i decided to remove the hood latch mechanism and clean it (it was full of gunk, sand, etc.. if figured the latch was getting stuck on all that gunk).

anyway, i cleaned it, the thing went from black and gunky to a nice clean metal.. springs were fine, etc.. etc.. i reinstalled the damn thing and the latch still sticks!! it was the damn cable, not the mechanism! so, i still have to push the latch with a stick to get it back into place to lock (again, since it's the cable holding it open). so now, i don't know what to do short of replacing the cable.. anyone run into this issue before and fixed it?

tia..