It also makes a strange sound a certain points in te cycle, like little plastic beads are swirling around in the bottom somewhere. That can't be good. So, what do I do?

Mike

pull the drain line off of the disposal/air gap/ drain connection and HOLD the drain line in bucket while canceling program(causes drain cycle run) to clear any junk. then look in sump(bottom) of dishwasher under screens to find seeds/glass/knife blade etc. glass is invisible in water so use caution or tool to probe. reconnect drain line to drain and make sure that it is not draining when started(there is such a thing as stuck wash motor, which presents as water in bottom and dirty dishes) to isolate the drain pump as the issue. some have cover with torx screw, remove torx, cover and look for glass or debris, replace cover and screw and sump screens.