About a month ago I removed the top panel cover to access the the timer mechanism. I unplugged the power cord and put a paper towel under the timer. I sprayed contact cleaner in every opening I could find and spun the timer several times. After letting it dry for an hour I put everything back together and ran the washer through a cycle - same problem - argh. But ever since then (dozens of loads) it's been running fine. I think it was just a buildup of carbon dirt on some of the timer contacts that was causing my problem.