I just bought a new Juki and I am having the same problem. Yes, the feed dogs are down, stitch at O, pressure foot at top according to the direction in the booklet. I can free motion, however I too have to push and pull even with a thin batting. If I had a thicker quilt under there I would not be able to free motion. The foot pushes the material on top if I don't hold it down. I wrote back to the Juki company two days ago to see if there is some kind of adjustment for the foot, waiting on reply now. Regular stitching is beautiful and fast even with 8 layers. Just need to do something with the foot.