I found a fix to get around replacing the actuator assy and it's crappy plastic gear.

I bought a generic 5 wire lock actuator off EBAY for 9.99 free shipping.

It came with no instructions or schematic so I floundered around but eventually got it working, here is a picture of the rough idea.



The rod from the actuator was easy to bend into shape. It needs to end up paralleled with the lock cable. It came with a screw clamp that fastens to the rod and cable. I fastened the actuator to the door using an existing hole at one end with a screw and nut and at the other end drilled a small hole for a sheet metal screw. Seems to work great.

For the wiring I cut the pigtail off of the old actuator and soldered/taped the wires to the new actuator wires.

 

On the risk of repeating myself: you are a genius!

Please keep us posted of your solutions to these pesky problems.