fridge thermocouple issues?

[prof_fate]

last camping trip the fridge ran fine on elec but on gas it wouldn't start. Bled the lines and still nothing - it would click (the elec start) but not have a flame to run.

For the trip home (we run the fridge on proane while driving) I manually heated what I think is the thermocouple with a lighter (one of those long ones) and the fridge lit and ran on gas fine.

We're leaving for a long trip (8 hour driving segments eveyr other day) and we're gonna need a cold fridge. Yes, i'm waiting to the last minute to deal with this...such is life (and work).

Anyway, I had a gas fireplace where carbon buildup on the thermocouple caused a similar issue..sandpaper would fix it for a while (clean off the carbon).

Anyone else run into this and the proper fix is what?