My Sony U-Matic VO-5630 has a strange problem
 

Hello, sorry I couldn't be more specific in the title, this problem requires some explaining as it is a strange problem that I am having trouble with.. This is very hard to explain so I will go through the problem step by step..

My Sony U-Matic VO-5630 has been working fine until now.
When I turn the U-Matic on it makes a few loud clicks, then the "F FWD" (fast forward) light starts to turn on and off erratically and the U-Matic makes many clicking sounds as the parts near the fast forward spindle move.
What is more confusing to me is that there is NO tape inserted while it does this!
At first I was sure that it was the sensor under the fast forward spindle that was faulty, but after checking it and cleaning it there has been no improvement.
Usually I can feed video through my U-Matic and out to my old TV by pressing Record, but this problem is preventing record from staying active, thus the video is cut off and my TV goes blank.
Sometimes it will last for a few minutes before the problem starts but once it starts it doesn't stop until I turn the U-Matic off.
I love my U-Matic and I would very much appreciate some help from anyone who might know or have some ideas about this problem.
I am knowledgeable about electronics in general and I usually figure things out but this one has me stuck.

Thanks everyone for your time reading this, if you need any more info please ask as I would love to start using my U-Matic again.