1984 3ooTD Tailgate will not unlatch

Help! The tailgate on my 1984 300 TD will not unlatch. It won't open from the inside or the outside. Lock button pushes in... nothing. Lift the inside lever up... nothing. Unfortunately, I'm not sure it's actually "unlocked" as that whole emchanism feels wrong when trying to unlock with key. Is there a way to bypass everything and at least get it to open so it can be worked on?

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