Yes it was pulling all of the water then sucking air....I fixed it. It was a wad of Styrofoam balls from a noodle type float. My guess is that while the pump was off for a while, they gathered to form a blockage. (Previously the pump had been running 'round the clock due to cleaning up a swamp. I snaked the line and and many, many little blobs floated up into the skimmer. Thank you so much for your reply. This year's opening has been "good times"!!

Stella