Thanks everyone for your help... posting a few pictures of the surprises I found when I lifted the machine up form the base!
I'm having problems locating the actual user manual, I see Singer has a number posted that one can call for help... has anyone ever tried and if so were you able to get assistance? I'm trying ot figure out how I can (or more likely my husband..LOL!) create the knee lever... the design is different than those currently available that I have found... Thanks again!