I'm repairing a Maverick at the moment and have a similar issue...the 1st issue is the DMD (completely fried) and replacing it with the Dr Pinball mod. While I'm waiting for the parts to arrive, I discovered an issue with the paddle wheel. The optos seem to be working (the sound goes off when the ball goes through the beam), but sometimes the ball will get stuck in the paddle while. The ball will drop into the wheel and the wheel will stop completely. Other times, the wheel will turn as normal and feed it to the wireform.

Can anyone suggest where to start with this issue? The paddle wheel is continuously moving from when a game starts. Assuming this is normal. Sometimes it will lift the ball and sometimes it will get stuck and then the ball search kicks in. From under the playfield, the rubber pulley looks ok and the gears turn as normal.

Cheers!
Adam.