Janome Artistic 18
 

I have a Janome Artistic 18 long arm machine. The timing was off and was breaking needles, make a loud clanking noise. So a youtube video on how to adjust timing. Did that and oiled bobbing area. Sounds smooth again. Picks up initial bobbin thread, and when moving machine back to front, but does not pick up bobbing thread when moving side to side or front to back. Is this still just an adjustment of the bobbin area?

I would think the problem is with the encoders on the side. If they don't sit on the rail firmly the machine will skip stitches.

I agree, if you have stitch regulation on your machine this is likely the cause of the missed stitches.