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I found a solution I haven't seen anywhere.
None of the answers I found online helped me, including manual eject, checking springs, gears, or other parts, and even removing the felt.
After observing the drive in action without the metal cover on it, I realized that the disk was catching before it could contact the little back rollers that spin and "grab" it. There is a little white runner or tab, for lack of a better term, by the black roller had been slightly worn into by the disk over the years. The disk would catch on it and not make contact with the rollers, which are supposed to eject it. I cut the little groove it had made back smooth so the disk glides over it into the roller, and now it works perfectly. (The roller im talking about is circled, and the white tab is what the arrow is pointing to)
To check if you have this same problem, remove the metal plate covering the drive, then insert a disk partway (with the console off) and use the manual eject with a screwdriver to slowly finish inserting it. When the gear hits the stop/end, slowly rotate the screwdriver the other way and observe where that black roller is. If the disk doesn't eventually slot into it, then your drive might have done what mine did.