I had what sounds like a similar problem on our 2004 Free Spirit, with one or both drive cables coming out, and finding that when I tried putting it back together, the inside part (i.e. the cable itself) seemed to be too short. If I push it all the way into the motor, then it does not engage the drive gear, and vice versa, so there was a delicate balance of trying to position the cable so that both are engaged.
I got frustrated, and bought two new cables from Leisure Travel Vans. At first they looked the same as the old ones, but when I measured, I found that the inner cables were the same length as before, but the outer sheath was at least 1/2" shorter than the old ones. This made all the difference, now it is easy to get the cables to engage both ends. It remains to be seen whether they will pop out again, but now I know to be more careful sliding things under the seat.
But that is not to say my electric sofa now works great. It does work with the new cables, it works good enough when lowering the sofa to the bed position, but when raising it back to the bench position, it needs help, especially for the first bit as the back starts to raise. I need to pull on the back of the sofa to nudge it through this difficult section.
When I had things apart, I tried lubricating the mechanism to make it slide better, but I didn't see much improvement, and it seemed a bit stiff to me, but the design is not that elegant, so I don't know if I should expect it to move more freely.
I also wondered about the screw drive mechanisms - I did not try to take them apart, but I did try to run each side by connecting an electric drill to drive cable. The screws seemed to turn smoothly enough, but I was only turning the screw drive itself, the seat wasn't connected - and I didn't know how easy it should be to turn this screw drive.
Anyway, it is now usable again with the new cables, but I am wondering whether replacing the screw drives would make any difference, or possibly replacing the motor? I haven't priced out either yet. Has anyone had any success in making the power sofa struggle less on a Free Spirit?
Dave