Ninja blender cup not locking

 I have a Ninja professional blender and the single serve cup is not letting me turn it to get a click so that I can start to blend. It turns out there is a tab in one of the channels that the cup drops into on top the blender which is not getting pressed. 

The notch on the left is where I cleaned

The tab seems to be sticky from juice spilling on it and getting dried. In order to clean it I had to remove a T-shaped rubber filler above the tap. I used a small blade to pry it out. 

T shaped rubber filler
which I removed

Once removed I used a damp cloth and toothbrush to wipe the tab and let a drop of water get on it to loosen any stuck food. I also used a small flat head screwdriver to press the tab and eventually it got loose and is free now. It has a spring which keeps it in the UP position. You need to press it down to force it to operate and loosen it.

Top of the blender

After cleaning the problem tab, the cup now clicks in like it should. It took about 5 minutes of total work. 

Tags- ninja blending not locking closed, cup not turning all the way, blender not going to starting position. cannot use blender with smoothie cup. Shake cup cannot connect to the top of ninja blender. 

Updated 13 June 2023