[Michael C]

This Maytag, when plugged in makes attempts to start turning on its own, stops for a minute and the tries to start again - the drum makes about a 1 inch movement then stops. It could be the motor or it could be a something controlling the motor.

The drum turns smoothly by hand which makes me believe that it is not the bearings in the motor at least.

Anybody with ideas before I just go changing the motor?

[PS Volunteer - Appguy]

Pull belt off motor and check for lateral play in bearings. If none you will have to monitor motor voltage at startup. If constant during start you have control problems
Refer to schematic for diagnosis.