After internet search of symptoms, discovered that the hub that connects the drive shaft to the tub was stripped causing intermittent spinning which in turn caused the knocking and creating the unbalanced condition. Appliance Parts Pros got me the hub within a day and the other part a little longer due to snowstorm, but still timely.
To replace the hub: Remove agitator by popping off plastic cap, undoing the bolt, take agitator of the shaft by tugging at it from side to side, if it seems like it will not come off, I found a bungee cord to help with the tugging on each side equally did the trick, by getting the hooks on each side. Next pull a U clip out using a screwdriver or similar. Then undo 5 screws, the hub should just pull up revealing the shaft drive, if the hub is indeed bad you will see the grooves all worn down. Reverse the process to install the new hub. I also purchased the actuator shifter on the possibility that maybe it was bad to, but it was mainly a worn hub that caused the problem. It took a bit of time but using the manual you find attached to the inner wall of the washer, I learned how to troubleshoot and test the washer using the diagnostic mode. Once you figure it out and follow the manual it gets easier with time. So, I was able to both confirm the bad hub and test the new hub using the diagnostic mode. I got a bit ahead of myself in the troubleshooting process and took the belt and the splutch drive apart mainly to see how it works and while I was under there replaced the actuator shifter, even though I don’t think the original was bad. I will tell you if you take it apart, make sure you snap in the plastic housing of the splutch because I didn’t get all the tabs snapped back in and after I replaced the hub and started a test load, it screamed like a banshee and it turned out that I didn’t snap all the tabs back in place on the splutch causing the gears to grind but not grab, but once I did, it was fine. If you want to remove the tub to clean out the pump area etc. There is a great YouTube video of a guy using a tire jack and a 2x4 to get it off the shaft. I did it and it worked perfectly (note, the tub should just pull up after you take the hub off, but friction and dirt in the grooves etc. is what makes it hard, hence the jack trick). Thanks to all the DIY, ers who posted help in blogs and on YouTube and thanks to appliance parts pros for great service. Spent about $125.00 on parts and shipping.