We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember The Medway Handyman
saying something like:

I wondered if it might be the brushes? If you pull the trigger nothing
happens, but if you twist the chuck it starts?

Can I resurrect Mr Makita?

Brushes are cheap enough to find out if that's the cause.
Just take out the old ones for a look, you'll soon see if they're short.