Oh man Shelbie, that sounds like one unhealthy machine! How old is it? Has it been to a dealer? Was it always like that or did it slowly crap-ify over the years?
Mine is just over 2 years old so it's still pretty new, but I've sewn & quilted at least 30 quilts on it so far and the only trouble I had was caused by letting an 8 year old play with it with almost no supervision for a whole weekend - had to get my needle threader head replaced, somehow the little hook inside mine magically got bent.
Other than that it's been a real workhorse and it only gives me bad stitches if I put an off-brand bobbin in.