@deirdrebeth haha, I have done a bit of taking apart, that’s true! The two parts that I have the most familiarity with are the board that the lid’s black ribbon cable connects to at the back of the machine, and the one that the white ribbon cable connects to on the left hand side. I had a similar issue where mine would be stuck “centering”, which was resolved by fixing the board that the black ribbon cable connects to. I did a write-up on that here: Black Ribbon Circuit Board - Replacement Guide
I’d suggest that you try to visually check to see if this board has any sort of obvious damage, such as black burn marks or corrosion. The way the machine knows where to send the laser head, is during the startup, the head is sent to the rough center of the machine, the camera then takes a picture to find the head, and adjusts it until it is centered. From there it “homes” it. If it cannot understand where the head is, then it gets tripped up. This information is all gathered originally through the black ribbon cable (which could also be the problem), sent through that connection board, and then through a separate white cable into the main board on the right side of the machine. Anyway, the visual inspection is where I would start. The part and shipping is much more cost effective than ordering a replacement machine, but you’d have to be able to diagnose the problem correctly.
I found corrosion on my board only after ordering a black ribbon cable replacement and the problem still being present. Had I done a bit more poking around, my problem would have been more obvious.