During the wash cycle, and after the drum fills with water, the washer goes dormant. No agitation, no noise. The timer continues to click along. At the end of the wash cycle, the water pumps out fine and the spin works fine. During the rinse cycle, after the drum fills with water, the agitator kicks on as it should, strong and firm.
I pulled the agitator. The pawls at the top are fine. The spline at the bottom is fine (both male and female).
We replaced the motor coupling 5 months ago (2nd time it was replaced in the 14 years that we have owned the unit, from new).

Thank you for the timely reply, sidfink.
After a little more www research, I decided to open it back up and verify that the vaccum switch hose for the water level was intact and functional. I found it to be very pliable and tightly sealed at both ends. I used the butt of a screwdriver to to lightly tap on the vaccum switch body...just cuz.
Before lifting off the larger lower machine cover, I had to disconnect an electric harness that ran from the switch panel and down into the back side of the machine. I noted that it slid apart very easily; the terminals were not snug at all. When I reconnected it, I worked it back and forth/in and out to assure some level of conductivity between the terminals of each connector block.
When I reassembled the machine, it worked fine. :confused: :eek:
I don't expect that I necessarily had alot to do with the fix, but who knows? I doubt that tapping on the vaccum switch yielded diddle for improvement. The electrical connector block, tho, could be a player. Is that possible? It did not contain many wires, so it makes me doubt that it could directly affect the agitator and nothing else.