Hi Scott, Beautiful layout and train. I think part of the problem is the business model of MTH and, to some extent, Lionel, is that there are not enough service techs out there to help when a problem arises. I had an issue with some Lionel passenger cars a few years ago, I simply took them back to my dealer, Eastside Trains, and their tech was able to repair it while I waited (and shopped). Earlier, I had tried calling Lionel and while the wait was not as long as yours, the repair desk didn't know there was a problem. Your issues sound much more complicated and having a coordinated group of service desks would be a better approach to quickly identify fixes and then service the engines.
Good Luck and keep us posted.
Dave
