Whooo Hoooo! Success, congrats. I am doing the happy dance for you.:thumbup:

Thanks for the encouragement and the happy dance!

So, I got that problem solved and a bunch of others too. I'm now down to what I am hoping is the final step, getting the needle centered. It has a three position switch, R-M_L. In all positions it is a bit to the right, nearly hitting the presser foot on the right and with a sizeable gap on the left. I've looked everywhere for an adjustment screw and can't find anything. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

When you push to the right on the needle bar is it sticky? Look and see what the needle bar connects to. Do you see any kind of thing that goes in and out of a sleeve or pin? check to see if it is gummed up. Then you will need to lift the top lid and when you push on the needle bar see what moves under there - cleaning out the gunky oil will do some good there too. You will need to go over every moving part on the machine and free it up with the oil. Avoid 3-in-1 oil like the plague - it may be what is in there now.

Thanks Miriam -- I did all that and everything moves freely. Even "snaps" back and forth where it barely moved before. The odd thing is that the needle was perfectly centered before I started cleaning it up. After I got everything working, I thought I was done, but then noticed the off-center needle.

I've done the same thing. Seems like a little cleaning is not enough. Maybe it stirs it up...

So, you think I may need to keep trying to clean it up more? I worked on everything attached to the needle bar for a long time and, like I say it all seems to move freely. Is there no adjustment?

Noel,

Follow the bar that moves the needlebar from right to left. There should be a screw on one end that is an eccentric. And that screw will be held tight by a small set screw. If you can find those screws, loosen the set screw and then adjust the bar's position.

Cathy

That, or something like it, is what I was looking for all day. Couldn't find anything that looked adjustable. I'll look again tomorrow. Thanks.

That's why I read everything on here. The drama, the chase, the success, almost, try again. Ya'll are the greatest!:)