To all who PM'd and posted me with suggestions, thank you all.
I did receive a DVD of the manual with the machine which I then printed off so I could follow more closely the steps. I've done all that you great folks have suggested, the needle is in the holder correctly and the thread is correct in the machine.
The machine appears as if it's sewing but, when I take the material out, all I have are long strings of thread, no stitches. What makes it even more frustrating is I took my Janome in for service Saturday because I thought I'd have my nice little Featherweight to sew on. Now I'm going to get at least two weeks behind in trying to make my Christmas gifts plus I know I'll have a real headache dealing with this selller. His listing on EBay said he's a "master technician" and this machine "works perfectly. He had sewn a few rows on paper towels instead of material. I wonder if that's the standard way to sew for a technician?
Again, thank you all for the great advice and links.