First of all, you will always have a rollout (free-wheeling) spool and a takeup (non-free-wheeling) spool.  When either spool is in the takeup mode, meaning the worm gear is in mesh with that side of the ribbon mechanism, it will not advance with your finger.  The only way to get both spools to free-wheel is to push back on a little lever above the takeup selector.  That takes the worm gear out of mesh with the ribbon mechanism.  Put back in takeup mode, the ribbon will advance only when the carriage is moving.  You should see ribbon movement when you close the top and run the carriage side to side.  Switch spools with the ribbon reverse lever, and see that it goes the opposite direction.  The ribbon mechanism, like the machines of the early 1900s to the Litton Royals of the early 1970s, is driven by the spring drum via a small driveshaft to the front.  You'll see a little essy-thing (for want of a better term) spin and occasionally contact one of two small wheels above or below it.  Sometimes these lock and need to be oiled and freed with a pair of needlenose pliers. 
After you resolve any issues (or assuming there were no issues), there is a little bit tougher a matter--the unevenness of the carriage travel--a sore spot with Royals.  It could come from the holddown hooks not properly adjusted on the main track (topside on the carriage).  You should have only a really tiny bit of play so that the carriage will travel free.  Too loose and you'll possibly have uneven type, but certainly lose bearings.  Another problem, and this could account for the unevenness of carriage travel resistance, is that the rear carriage rail is higher on one side than the other.  This is a very tricky adjustment.  But one thing you've got on your side is where the bolts are holding the rail on have dug into the paint enough to sort of "matchmark" your original position.  Try only loosening one side enough to pull up or down on it, while loosening the other just ever so slightly to provide pivot.  You'll have to do this several times--think trial and error here.  Eventually, you'll get it more in tune than it was before.  And if you get it way out of whack, remember your matchmarked starting points and start over.  I hope this helped.  Let me know how you come out.

Yes.  All you have to do is just slide the carriage either to one side or the other, depending on which bolts you want to loosen.  In fact, to align the rear channel, you must have the carriage on if you going to raise/lower one side or the other so you'll be able to test your adjustments. 
Just how badly is the rear rail chewed up?  I've seen them bent from having been knocked around or even dropped.  But then to come along afterward and attempting to straighten this rail with just a pair of pliers that way.  This one can be done with the carriage in place,  but the best thing to do in order to straignten that rail is to remove that rail from the machine.  Just undo all four bolts (remember the little scratches in the paint around the boltholes, or matchmark them yourself, slide that puppydog outta there and hopefully, if the rail is too far gone, to either find another one of the same length (you can at least interchange with an HH and maybe a KMG and KMM, but you'll need to check the last two), or you can take it to a machine shop and see if they can straighten it out for you.