@redbeard wrote:I don't think slow pays that are 5-7 years old will hold you down much. Some, yes, of course, but they diminish in impact pretty significantly at the 2 year (and I assume again at the 4 year) point. 30-60 day lates typically the biggest impact is the first 2 years, they may cost a few points all the way to CRTP. 90 days and over and you are looking at an impact the entire time they remain on file.
Of course, the problem with credit scores is it is a soup recipe with everything thrown in. It's hard to know sometimes what impact each component has, and it varies depending on the rest of things. For instance, it seems to me that above 700, utilization plays a much bigger role then it does at 600. So do inquiries, credit mix and pretty much everything.
I would definitely try some good will letters. Just ask them to delete payment history over 4 years old. Leave the account, just delete old payment history. I've had some success with that (not a lot and mostly by accident) and it had little to no impact on my scores, but did make the report look better
This is why I don't think these older slow pays are the issue.
Dan
You can do it! Trust me -- if I can, you can. One pitfall...you'll be addicted to MyFico
Reading this thread is so encouraging. Thank you all for sharing. I have two that won't go away for awhile unless the dispute is approved. I'm going to try my best to improve my score. 
Thank you all!
669 right now but its still going up. 1 satisfied judgement, 3 unpaid judgements. 2 medical collections. 20+ inquries 