My friend replaced the 820 with a 770 and is very happy, she used the 820 for several years and never clicked with it and also had issues with fancy threads. She does some fancy things and bags and such, whereas I just quilt.
Sometimes its hard for me to push myself to do things differently. A serpentine stitch for quilting is hardly wild and experimental but it will be the first time for me. I had the option to use this modern machine just like I did my vintage machine or to use the features and so I've been planning and working on projects just to get practice on some of these things.
But in the good news, Bernie and I are once again playing nicely together! Thanks all for the help and support.