OK, I took the plunge and bought a Janome 3022 from work. It happen to coincide with payday for us and some unexpected work hours, so I haven't even had time to take it out of the box! Shameful I know.
I haven't checked the Brother and changed thread either. So I'll do that first and see what happens before I take the next steps as to what to do if it works. Keep it, return the Janome, sell the Brother......decisions, decisions.