It appears that no one pays much attention to this forum which is a shame. Forums can be a great help for all. I belong to forums for my other cars and there is always a lot of good info. That said, if anyone happens by, the tailgate on my 96 Roadmaster wagon will fold down but won't swing open. If it makes any difference, the tailgate will not unlock with the control for the rest of the doors. The key must be used in the tailgate to open the hatch. I have looked at youtube and everywhere else I can think of with no luck. I'd hate to have to pay a dealer to fix this issue.

 

I am also on a number of other forums, and just joined this one.

There are some actuating wires in the gate, and the wire end clips break. It may be one of those. Two of them slide in the bellcranks. The wire ends are no longer available, but I have a collection of them. There is also a cable from the "door' handle to the mechanism. If the gate does not sense that it is closed, the door function will not work, and vice versa.

You may have one of a couple issues with the remote/dash/gate open. The solenoid may have a broken bracket, or the solenoid may not be functioning properly. The plunger shaft can corrode, and not retract. You will be removing the gate interior to access it.

If you can come up with a factory service manual, it has instruction on how to set up the gate. They come up for sale on ebay occasionally.