I have been dealing with a wood Regulator (1900's). The most direct means I found was to look for an angled wire from the escapement to a loop around the drop rod to the pendulum. This wire can be bent, carefully.. in the direction of the pendulum swing. The principle is to bend said wire left or right according to the uneven beat, to allow the escapement to tick at equal distances from pendulum vertical.
Keep trying. Grip the part above the bend with pliers to protect the escapement during the bend.
When the clock ticks but stops after a few moments, it means excess wear on the escapement wheel pivot. Test by putting a mark on the wheel, then restarting. Likely it will stop when the mark swings around to same position (1 revolution). Restart, then prod the front pivot with a toothpick- that will stop the works at a touch. Visual inspection with a 3X magnification will show a definite wobble in the bearing.
This is 'way north of an amateur fixup; there will be similar wear in the whole power train, that only a good clockmaker can fix.
Phil Cassel
August 2006