i found the problem. i opened the hatch and looked at the latching mechanism. then I wiggled it expecting it not to move. thats then I notced one of the 10mm hex screws that holds it in place was literally on the last thread and about to fall off. So I took off the hatches trip panel and found that ALL of the hex screws that secure the entire locking mechanism to the body were all but falling off. Even some of the flathead screws that are a part of the locking mechanism were pretty much falling out.

I torqued them all down and bingo.