These are all great questions. One thing I know is there is no asbestos. Thats one problem out of the way. The house was in excellent condition in 1960 (I have photos and know the woman who lived here then, so thats one other thing that is on the up side. The house was vinylized in about 1970. One of my concerns is that the vinyl is preventing moisture from properly escaping from the house, thereby rotting it from the inside. All of the non-masonry houses on this block are painted wood and the wood is in pretty darned good condition. that doesnt mean mine is, but they all have been exposed to the same elements for the same length of time and were all built within a few years of one another. One thing I know is that the back porch, which was enclosed in about 1948, had vinyl that we removed to the old wood siding and it was, of course, in excellent condition, so I am hopeful that the rest of the house is in at least good condition and wont need significant repairs or stripping. If it is, well, we can always re-side it. One thing I read about painting Vinyl is that dark colors will make it warp. Thanks for mentioning the value question - my house is only as valuable as the neighborhood. Sometimes I do tend to get carried away and forget about location - isnt it sad so many wonderful old houses are in less than perfect neighborhoods. Thankfully, all the neighbors here are significantly improving their property so were kind of hopeful at the least well make our neighborhood into a more desirable place to live.

You can replace it with new glass block or there are some manufacturers that make operable glass block windows. Glass block is not harder than setting tile so it is pretty straightforward if your DIY - DIWoW skills are good.

Thats is the balance assembly and it can be replaced. Easiest way to do so would be if you can identify the model of window and proceed accordingly.

Duct tape will be tacky, and will not hold up. Painting your Vinyl windows will void your warranty. Just painting the frames and not the sash will be much easier. I would look into a product like Sherwin-Williams vinyl safe paint but have seen it done with cheap spray paint. prep will be key and spraying it will look best. https://azekexteriors.com/docs/installation/azek_trim_moulding_installguide.pdf