First, the air in the pump basket is an indication of low flow which you already know. What is the pressure gauge reading? High pressure indicates a blocked filter. Low pressure is usually a suction side blockage, an air leak, or a pump problem. Are any air bubbles coming out the returns? If they are continuous then it could be a suction side air leak. Most common place is the pump basket lid. Only other thing that can really go wrong with a pump is a gunked up impeller. I'm amazed at how common a problem this is because I can't imagine enough junk getting past the skimmer and pump baskets to clog the impeller but it does. Kill the power by dumping the breaker. Be absolutely sure the pump cannot come on. Pull out the basket and reach in the hole and see if there is stuff tangled on the impeller. You can use a hook fashioned from a coathanger or anything to pull the stuff out.
See if any of this helps.
Al