OK, I think I have a solution. The skimmer at the pool is brand new, it came with the new pool that was installed 2 weeks ago. There are absolutely NO leaks between the pool and the pump. As I posted above, everything is fine when the basket is removed from the pool skimmer.... So, I put a plastic spacer under the skimmer basket that was about 1/4 inch thick....a tiny bit of improvement, but not great. Then, I brought the spacer up to a half inch thick.... Much better, but still not 100%.... So I increased the spacer to 3/4" and PERFECT!!! So, now with the skimmer basket in place, I have plenty of water in the basket of the pump...no air and everything works "normally" on either high or low speed. The culprit was the skimmer basket itself. The skimmer basket has VERY fine holes in the bottom... When the skimmer basket is seated all the way down, it only lets water flow through the holes in the bottom, NOT through the holes in the sides..... When I raise the basket up by 3/4 of an inch, water flows through all the holes in the basket and water flow is perfect! Hopes this helps someone else.....