Matt,
First the scratched bearing. Have a look at the plastic pad and you will probably see a small staple that is raised above the surface of the pad. Knock it in below the pad surface and your problems will not get any worse. Smooth the scratches and the surface of both bearings with some very fine wet and dry and your movement will be improved, reduces the stication.
As for the pulled out spring. Well there must be some serious tension on that bolt to pull out like that. Before I made my mount with oversized bearings I did not use the springs at all. I got a couple of large magnets out of some old speakers and covered them with some self adhesive felt from Spotlight. I then used these to balance the scope with great success.
As for the sideways movement, have the nuts that hold the bearings come lose? Its a common thing with the GS design and when it happens to one bearing it slips which could cause the off axis movement. Line them up and tighten the nuts and use some Loctite to stop them coming lose again.
Have fun
