Glad to hear things are going better. One of my books on machine quilting says: the best stitches are made when sewing forward. Perfect tension is difficult to maintain with free motion quilting because the direction changes frequently and affects stitch formation. "It is acceptable for small dots of thread to appear on the back side when using free motion quilting."
(Which tells me this is a common problem and difficult to avoid.)
Another thing they mention is to thread the machine with the presser foot RAISED. (This puts the tension disks in the correct position to accept the thread.)
You almost need a "take-off" check list to remember all these things!! :D :D
I am enjoying this machine most of the time. The narrow strip of quilting area is one drawback, but mine rolls smoothly, so fairly easy to follow the pantograph. I have been drawing my own patterns so far, usually adapting the quilting design stencils to continuous lines. I don't trust myself to do a lot of freehand quilting yet, except in small areas, but it is getting easier with practice.
I am hoping to whittle away at my pile of quilt tops, but have one or two that will probably still go to a professional quilter.
Good luck with your quilting!! Hope it gets easier and easier!!