Suspected that the discharge/sump pump was not working at peak performance. Put the new one on, and connected the shop-vac back up to the sink end, and viola -- hose was cleaned out! Because only a small amount came out, I'm certain that the pump was the issue.
The friction pads were easy peasy. Just took out a couple of screws, removed the springs & extensions, and slipped on the new ones --- NICE!