The set was manufactured in December of 1997, so it's about 7 years
old. Only seen use for about 5-6 years, though. For a while it was on
continuously, for more than a month or so, I believe.

One thing I forgot to mention is when the TV freaks out, the red tears
toward the right side of the screen, and each click/static blast causes
the picture to jump and flash and stuff.

What can I do first before I start ripping caps off the board? I would
get in there and flex the board a bit and stuff, if I knew what the
heck I was doing, lol. If I did have to start replacing caps, I'd just
need to replace the electrolytic ones, and most of those have their
values printed on them, right?

Thanks,
Baral'heia