"...had a wonderful high gloss..." It an oil finish or polyurethane? It matters.
I'd be guessing it was polyurethane(plastic) due to the cracking and chipping. Oil finishes don't do that. That will have to come off first.
Depends on what kind of polyurethane it was though. If it's yellowing, that'd be good. Means it's oil based poly and will come off with normal varnish remover and some sanding. If it's clear, it's even better. That's water based poly and alcohol (the rubbing kind) will dissolve it.
Tru-Oil is a blend of assorted oils. It won't go on polyurethane. Neither will pure tung oil(Not Tung Oil Finish). Or any other oil finish. You must strip the old finish off first, whatever it is.
After that wood is wood. You use the same products and techniques used on fine furniture. (Just be advised that a high gloss finish on wood is extremely time consuming. It's absolutely not a wipe on, one week end project. And no power/rotary tools are involved. It's strictly a hand done thing.)
Best you read a few wood furniture finishing books first.
Pure Tung Oil is your friend. It gives a hard, waterproof, shiney(but not that high gloss of plastic unless you spend weeks rubbing. The more layers with 24 hours drying time between 'em, the shinier the finish.) finish. It does not get painted on and left to dry either. It requires a clean, lint free, cloth for every application.