Hey, TerriA, I'm glad you found us and yes, it is nice when we have people to talk quilting with.
I'm unfamiliar with your machine, but my first question is "is it on a stable surface". Some people have problems simply because they are trying to sew on a card table that isn't sturdy enough. Figure you can't cross stitch while on a bucking bronco, and you can't sew while chasing your machine like a loose dog.
Next, I'm a big believer in changing needles all the time. If you hear a pooka-pooka sound, that means instead of sewing you are punching holes in your fabric with a beyond dull needle. Causes all sorts of problems. And even if you've just changed needles, the fresh one may have a manufacturing defect. Needles are cheap, buy them on sale/in bulk and replace them often whatever sort you use.
Some machines are better than others in what I call "sewing into space" for that reason, I also use leaders (spiders, because of the threads hanging down like legs) pretty much always, enders not so much.
I prefer to use the single hole footplate and a "quilting foot" that is one that has 1/4" markings all the way around. While typically we sew with the bulk of the fabric outside the machine/to the left, there are times when sewing from the other side gives you better results, like when you have little points getting sucked down into the machine.
And then, some machines just drag and pull more than others. Sometimes you have to help the machine, but mostly I see people fighting their machines instead of letting them do the work. But there comes a point when no, it really isn't anything you are doing or can improve on and the only way to take the next step is a different machine. That doesn't necessarily mean newer or more expensive, but for a machine that does what you want it to do.