420A Hatch no latch

[ESFlores1]

A about 2 years ago, i noticed the hatch start to have trouble releasing, but would still release after a couple tugs at the trunk lever. A about a year later, it became impossible to open the trunk via the keyhole, on an inconsistent bases, and the lever release became more of a miss than hit. At this point, the car had sat outside for a while, mostly without protection because the car covers kept getting stolen. Since there was an obvious leak, i chopped it up to probably rust from condensation at the hatch release/latch actuator. A few months later, and now the trunk will not latch to stay closed.

I have tried moving the latch up as high as I could, and no luck with the hatch latching. The keyhole was now unable to rotate on a constant, consistent bases.

I bought a used latch, which did not have the correct wiring harness, and bolted it up to see it the trunk would at lease latch, but no luck.

I wouldnt think it is something with the cable since i did not replace the cable when I bolted the other latch.

Has anybody dealt with this?

Also, it was impossible to remove the ball pin at the end of the cable from the original latch. How do i remove that so I can swap in a replacement latch?

I’ll post pictures this weekend of the latch I have.