This is a REALLY long shot, but it happened to me. I ordered a new batch of needles and was sent the wrong ones for my Gammill. The needles I received were just a hair, and I mean a tiny, tiny bit, shorter than the right needles. They caused me more 'tension' trouble than a bad MIL for weeks. Only when I dug out one of my old needles, at my husband's suggestion, and compared them under a magnifying glass did I discover the culprit. Bingo! You're not working with a new batch of needles by any chance?