so i open up my tape deck... it beeps, comes up but the tape slide mechanism doesnt open... it just slides back down again like i put in an invisible tape. is it broken?

I had something similar once, with the camera on a tripod. I took it off the tripod, removed the base-plate and set it on a flat surface. Happily, it worked. My guess at an explanation is that the tripod base-plate was done up a bit too tight and caused the body to flex just a bit too much in a critical place, but I really don't know. I stopped thinking about it when the problem went away, and it hasn't recurred.

so i open up my tape deck... it beeps, comes up but the tape slide mechanism doesnt open... it just slides back down again like i put in an invisible tape. is it broken?

Did you make absolutely sure you fully opened the compartment door... like the hand strap is preventing it?

i did something stupid and opened up my camera and put it back together and now its fine. :)

How many screws did you have left over???? :)

Three! haha