the aimless scanning might be loose or corroded antenna connections,
causing a weak signal at the radio and not allowing the radio
to "lock" onto a station. Not sure about the tape problem.
Clean your antenna connections well, and put them back together
using dielectric grease to seal moisture out. Then, pick up
a DIN-sized CD deck, sleeve, and harness on EBay. Go with Pioneer,
Kenwood, Blaupunkt, Alpine, Sony, Becker, or other known brands -
don't buy a cheap make like Kraco! A decent deck shouldn't cost you
more than $50-$75. I picked up my Pioneer at Best Buy for $5 -
someone had stolen the sleeve and wiring harness from the package,
so they were just trying to get rid of the radio. The sleeve
and harness cost me an additional $10 on EBay. For added convenience
(no soldering required) Crutchfield's sells adapters that plug
into your car's existing wiring harness. I chose to splice, because
my car's harness had already been butchered, so there was nothing
to lose.

-b.