OP -
When experiencing cylinder binding, a good cleaning, as you've noticed, at times is corrective. Sometimes that's all that's needed. However, in other cases, the cleaning may only be a temporary corrective measure.
Have you measured the barrel to cylinder gap and end shake? Attached is a handy FAQ sticky from the gunsmithing thread:
FAQ
Scroll down to the section on "Feeler Gauge Inspection" that describes the technique for taking the b/c gap measurement and the end shake measurement. It also provides acceptable parameters.
Hope this helps...
Bayou52