I had this behavior of tiny stitches when using a generic walking foot on my old White machine and I had to replace the foot. If I remember correctly, the walking feet just sort of fell apart, the soles wouldn't stay on anymore, etc.. Those walking feet just did not last for me. At $20 a pop and they only lasted through quilting one quilt it was getting expensive for me! But, then, I too bought the 440QE and have not had a moments trouble with Bernina's walking foot. You could be right that it is the foot especially since you are having the same problem using a small swatch. I know it is a hassle but at this point I think I would take my foot into the dealer (with some sandwiched swatches) and compare its performance against a walking foot that the dealer owns. I am sorry you are having this trouble - it sounds very frustrating. PS: I expect my Bernina and its accessories to work flawlessly each and every time - so far I have been lucky and love my machine. I have only quilted about 15 quilts using the walking foot but it is still going strong.