I was just given a dimage 7 yesturday, I'ts old but in good condition. The only thing that seems wrong with it is that the camera doesnt go in to record mode (to take regular pics).. it will go to play mode instead. all other modes work normal (including play mode. upon instecting the mode dial i noticed it was a little crooked. so what i want to do is dissasemble and try to repair

That does sound like a problem with the control dial, you can just wire in a switch or something. Take a look at this...

http://www.micro-tools.com/pdf/Minolta/2766%20Parts.PDF

The exploded parts diagrams should help a lot.