I have gone through the archives and found a lot of info on this subject, and I have put much of it to use already. Here is where I'm at:

The trunk close assist is not functioning. All other vacuum related convenience accessories are working fine (door close assist, reverse rods, retracting trunk handle). When I close the trunk softly nothing engages- I need to be somewhat forceful for it to latch. When the latch does catch, the trunk lid sucks down about 1/4", then after about 2 seconds there is a slight hiss and the lid goes back up 1/4".

So far I have troubleshooted the following:

The bottom latch was loose as many others on this board have discussed (in fact, one of the bolts had completely come off). I tightened it and there is no longer as much of a gap between the body of the car and trunk lid when shut. As far as the close assist, I have pulled the #9 fuse and no change. Pg 118 of the owner's manual explains manual closing of trunk lid- "push sliding switch to left, press eye of latch in, push sliding switch to right, close trunk lid." Moving the manual sliding switch to either position doesn't change anything. And I can't seem to be able to push the eye of the latch in. There is a little play in the latch and when I trigger the bottom latch to simulate the trunk closing, the handle retracts, the eye of the upper latch moves up about 1/4", and then after the hiss moves back down.

What should I look for next? Is the latch itself perhaps bad? I am relatively new to this board but I have already found a lot of helpful information - thanks!