The scary part is over... Got everything apart with no drama. Hardinge HLV spindle. Original issue was a chewed up belt. The belt was chewed up because the main motor pulley was broken, but with the pulleys loose, the spindle was still kinda "clicky" which is never a good sign, so I popped the spindle out and got to the bearings to find that it was just dried up grease causing the stick/click. So hopefully still a functioning lathe