Oh my gosh...thank you so much. This makes so much sense! My nearest dealer is several hundred miles away, so it is an expensive house call. :-) I live in the west Texas area. You have jogged by memory and I now remember another longarmer nearby that had this problem and knows how to fix it. Thanks for responding so quickly, as I have many tops that are "waiting" to be finished. thnx again 'ff'! your the best!!!!!!