Well, I finally got my problems solved. Part of the problem was that I couldn't get the quilt sandwich to stay in the hoop. It would even come out while the machine was sewing. I changed hoops to a small oval one and moved the machine. It wasn't easy, but I did it. And the little quilt looks pretty good as well. I'll get a photo of it when I'm finished and post it.
Getting used to a new machine is not much fun. But his machine really does do a better job than any other I've ever used.