Originally Posted by
southpawboston
....I forgot to mention, I could feel the binding when I dismantled the FD and removed the spring. At about the middle of the range of the cage travel there was considerable resistance. Once overcome, the cage could continue to the end of its travel. It wasn't a completely free-swinging mechanism.
It's possible that the body is damaged so the 2 pins aren't perfectly parallel now. Another place to look is where the legs of the spring meet the cage and arm. When the FD moves the leg slides a bit against the stop. Possibly a groove or notch was worn in there.
I suggest you take it off the bike, and work the mechanism in your hand and see if you can spot exactly where and why it sticks. Some times these respond well to a bit of manhandling, twist the cage back and forth against the body, and it might settle back home.