A new problem just developed. I just made a few minor repairs to the washer and I suspect it may've been caused by something I did. Otherwise would be too much of a coincidence.

What it now does:
The timer cycles properly, when triggered to fill/rinse, it does so but - in wash or rinse, either setting - when it sends the signal to begin agitation or kick into "spin", it doesn't; instead there's just a brief Hummmm as though it's triggering a relay that's sticking or unable to respond. A few times I noticed a smell, I can't tell exactly from what area. At first I thought it was that "electrical burning" smell but another time it smelled more like burning rubber. Because the whole machine housing acts as a sound board I can't really tell where the Hum originates.

I'm still testing but it seems it doesn't do this consistently. It may do a load, a load and a half, maybe even two just as it should before the problem arises. Once it does, I've found that if I shut it off, or unplug the machine, wait a little while and resume it will behave correctly for a while. I'm not yet sure for how long.

My first thought was a malfunctioning relay; possibly with the shut off time allowing the electromagnetic charge to dissipate and return to it's initial state. Again, for this to happen right after me having it apart would seem too much of a coincidence.

The current hypothesis is that, after the first load or two, perhaps something is becoming overheated causing the malfunction? Stopping and waiting a while allows it to cool down and perform properly ... until it overheats again.

What I did:
I didn't need to access the control area so never removed that panel: only took off the top, front and rear panels.
I tightened the (3)belts.

I don't want to clutter up this post with irrelevant or confusing information. The details regarding the previous problem can be found here if interested.

It's possible I could have inadvertently pulled a wire loose or whatever. I checked the wiring near where I worked, checked connectors, etc. and see no problem.

In the past, the washer would, on occasion, not be able to start the spin cycle itself. One would have to go down and manually give it a little assist. I assumed this was due to the belt being too loose so I went through and snugged up all the belts.

(This machine, a Speed Queen (Amana) DA3211 has three belts, one that goes from..
.. motor to water pump
.. water pump to agitator/transmission
.. motor to tub for spin cycle)

This (tightening the belts) is really the only significant change I made. But why would this make any difference?
..Unless over tightening a belt could cause a washing machine motor to overheat and overheating could cause a washing machine to malfunction, not beginning cycles properly?
According to this post some thought this was possible.

If this problem didn't exist before, now it does and the only change made was tightening the belts, Occam's Razor would suggest just loosening the belts. This is what I did and, at first, I thought it took care of it but after a few loads it began to act up again. Though they already seem too loose to me, the next step is to loosen them further. At this point, I have no other ideas.

Is there a relay? Is it built into the timer or motor?
What is the process that's supposed to occur to initiate agitation or spin?
Any other thoughts, suggestions, information is very welcome.

Thanks again,