False Paper Jam Issue

[MikonCons]

HP Laserjet 200 color M251 NW PCL6 Driver.  False "Paper Jam" prevents me from printing.

Problem arose after an output stalled with the last inch of paper in the output tray. Easily pulled it out, but got message of paper jam and was directed to open the rear door and clear paper jam... but there was nothing to clear. Closed rear door.... got same message to open rear door and clear paper jam. Powered off, waited one minute, re-powered. Printer "Initialized" then indicated it was ready (wireless connection configured). Tried to print, got message "Paper Jam."... which does not exist. Shuffled paper tray in and out a few times. Opened, inspected, felt around, and closed the rear door a few times... same message. Left alone... and ~20 minutes later it started printing my original document without any of my activity.

Are there optical couplers that check for door closures that could be going bad?

Are there any HP Reps on this thread that have or can address this problem?

[Repairatrooper]

There are several optical sensor in the paper path, they can fail but in cases of paper jams, the moving flags can also be damaged which will then result in the same error.

[MikonCons]

Repairatrooper, thanks for your comments. I suspected that may be the case (damaged flags) and did a careful inspection with a flashlight but with no success. I will repeat that inspection.

FYI, I left the office for a few hours, came back, and found the first page of a print job I had sent to the printer had been printed... but like before it had the last 3/4-inch of paper stuck in the roller area of the output tray. I pulled it out and immediately got the "Paper Jam" message.

[AlphaCharlie1]

To" Expert", does that mean a service call?

[AlphaCharlie1]

Also my ink  cartridge carriage won"t slide across .