As I mentioned earlier, the failure to cock could be caused by either wear on the striker notch or the tip of the sear, or both. Or something else completely different. No way to tell without examining the actual gun. Your other problem, hard to open, most likely will not require parts, but actually removing part of the metal on the barrel lug where it engages the locking piece inside the action. I have had this problem and had it repaired by a machinist friend. You have to be very careful because if you remove to much, the barrel will be loose in the action. Hopefully, Harvey can help you with both problems if you decide to contact him.
Something else to remember, while Savage sold parts to anyone, they advised that all parts were not interchangeable, but must be hand fitted, even though it was the same part for a particular action. I found that out trying to replace an ejector.
