Thanks for the reply Jake. I was really hoping that the problem was a stripped wash plate or something under it, but everything looked good. I'm not looking forward to doing this with the amount of room in my laundry room.
Thanks again for the reply Jake. Update after kicking the can down the road and just doing lighter loads. I finally had a repairman come out and check it out. Right away he said it was the rotor. He said he could hear it when it was just running an empty cycle. Then he tipped it back and removed the rotor and showed me where it has been hitting. What do you think about it being the rotor instead of the transmission?
SOLVED: the rotor was grinding against the plastic drip/catch tray under the washer when the load is heavy. All I had to do was adjust the feet higher. Not happy that I had to pay $70 for that guy to not even see that. It was obvious when I tilted the machine back. The rotor is black and has white plastic shreds on it.