Yes, it has happened to someone else recently...
Recent thread
I would still think that it's a problem with the chip. You can think of the no-solder as basically an "eject button mod." If the tray works fine under normal circumstances, that tells me that the passthrough function of the chip is working properly and that the cables are secure. Sounds like the logic in the chip is bad. Faulty no-solders seem to be quite common. I've ordered two of them before, one had to be replaced due to being faulty.