Dru Richelieu Gas Fireplace Manual Shut

Hi all. I am a homeowner with a question regarding my fireplace. Hopefully I can describe the problem in a way that makes sense.
I have a Valor gas fireplace with remote control. Last night the remote function stopped working, and now I can only turn the fireplace on or off by using the control knob behind the control panel (this particular unit does not have a wall switch). The knob has an off position, an on position, and a few settings in between that set the height of the flame.
The remote itself is working. Typically I have it set to manual control, and when I want to turn the fireplace on, I just press and hold the up arrow. Usually when I do this I hear a motor inside the fireplace that seems to be operating the variable flame. Last night while pressing the up arrow, the motor started making a ticking sound, almost like something inside it was slipping. When I went to turn it off later by pressing the down button, the motor stayed silent, and I ended up having to remove the access panel and turn the control knob to the off position. I can still turn the fireplace on or off with the knob, so it seems the problem lies with whatever mechanism is inside the fireplace that responds to the remote and adjusts the flow of gas
Obviously to me, the unit needs to be serviced. However, I really don't need the remote function. In fact, I would be much happier if I could just flip a switch to turn the unit off or on, and forget about the variable setting altogether. My question is, can I set up the fireplace settings in some way so that I don't need to worry about the remote? And is this something I can do myself?
Thanks for your help!