mech tab indicators
 

I have a recently purchased 98 32 Fountain, with the big 280 K planes. One of the tab indicators was sluggish during the 2 times I've had it on the water, and after winterizing a putting it in storage, I noticed the outboard the transom, connecting to the tab. How hard are these to replace with the through hull fittings and all? Am I better off just cutting the connector with a pair of bolt cutters and using the indicator on the starboard side? The cable is definitely frozen up, it won't budge, even with the wife running the switch and me pulling on the cable from outside the boat. Also, is there an easy way to go to a digital indicator without drilling more holes in my transom?