Stuck hood latch (Help!)

[jsbihn]

Hey all,
I have a front hood latch that for some reason gets locked up from time to time.
This is an intermittent issue, but it does it more then not.
Basically the latch gets stuck in the closed position and wont open to lock the hatch down. Of course on the rare occasion that it does allow for the hood to get latched, it is nothing for it to open when I pull the handle.
If it is locked up (not with the hood latched) and I pull the handle, it doesnt release it.

So basically I am trying to figure out what is going on and what I can do to fix it.
Very tempted to remove it if I cant fix it, but I would rather not since I think being able to lock up the hood might be a good thing at some point.

You advice is appreciated