Glenn,
Thank you so much! I am getting a bit closer with the stitches. They catch and are getting evened out but not yet where I would like them. I would sure love to have a copy of the manual if at all possible! Here is a photo of that area on my machine, no thread guide nor area where it looks like it would have been. Just an odd hole on the backside of the take up lever that goes through to the underneath of the take up lever. It does seem peculiar that there is no guide before the tension.
Suzanne
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(wish I knew why some photos post sideways-sorry)