Issues with the cruise control at the moment. It often will not go on and then it will work a while but unlock when I hit any sort of bump in the road. Inconsistent and while I seldom use it, I did 1400 miles from North Carolina to Texas where it sure would have been a tad handy to have more than once. Guessing it might be the cruise switch as the under hood part looks to be okay. Is this common?

 

First thing I would check is your brake pedal switch and clutch pedal switch - if one of those is worn or out of adjustment it may disable cruise control by itself from being jolted around, hitting bumps etc etc. I use my cruise almost every day and I couldn't imagine the car without it, it's very very precise!