I had a chance to talk to the tech yesterday, and we talked about thread and needle size. I tried a 90/14 needle when I got home with no change to skipped stitches. I have an appointment to take my machine in, but the earliest they can get me in is April 29th. So in the meantime, I am determined to learn to free motion with OUT the BSR. It doesn't skip with my darning foot. I'm convinced it's the BSR, but we shall see.