I have a TEAC R-888X auto-reverse cassette deck (circa 1987). I haven't
played anything in it for a while (a couple years maybe), and am
cleaning it and preparing to sell it. Everything seemed OK until I put a
tape in, expecting it to work fine, as it always has (ho ho). The moment
I hit play, the rotary playback head moves up towards the tape, quickly
rotates the opposite direction, retracts, and then the transport
controls all go dead. To get the transport controls working again, I
have to power the system off and back on. FF and REW work fine, of
course, as long as I don't press play.

I am no tech, but am guessing that either

a) the transport controls are shutting off to protect themselves for
some reason, or
b) the playback head isn't detecting a tape - which is weird, since the
"type" sensor (normal vs. CrO2 vs. Metal) senses the tape.

Can someone give me a simple solution to this? I am guessing this is a
common problem.

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

Larry