I acquired a '79 Anniversary Strat some years ago. It sat in the case until tonight, when I tried to put a new set of strings on it. The tuning pegs were nearly impossible to turn. I tried removing the flat-knobs and squirting a little silicone lube into each gearbox hole, which did help a bit. But now the A-string peg seems like it's "stripped" or something. The knob turns, but the peg doesn't.

1.) Can I get a new or NOS matching replacement peg from Fender?
2.) What's up with the insane tightness? My original '58 Strat pegs never give me an issue (nor any other guitar for that matter).

Thanks.

It seems like those are just regular non-locking Sperzel tuners on the '75 25th Anniversary Strats; you should be able to get replacements anywhere. According to Sperzel's web site these are called "Solid-Pro" tuners - scroll about half-way down on this page:

http://www.sperzel.com/Models_Colors.asp

It has been a while since I've had a guitar with Sperzels but it also seems to me that the screw that holds the button on the tuner also adjusts how stiff/loose the tuner operates. I know that is true on Schaller tuners, so I'm just assuming it is also true on Sperzels.