Quandry

I’ll take the contrary view that you should go ahead and invite a knowledgeable person into your home to check out the whole setup. While he’s there, pick his brain; make him teach you. One good reason to take this route is you may have some other glitch in your vinyl chain that might take months or more to figure out, if you deny yourself the benefit of another pair of eyes, not to mention a skilled pair of hands. Two caveats: (1) this must be done in your home, not at his place of work, and (2) make certain that the expert you choose is really an expert. Examine credentials.

This should resolve your quandAry.

A small adjustment to AS ought not to have the profound effect you report.

Sorry for the spelling error.  I should know better.

rvpiano, Warning! You're tweaking your knobs again and taking a path sure to lead you back into audio hell. :-)

Really, the only thing that needs a steady hand is IMHO installing and adjusting a cartridge. As you did with anti-skate you can do VTA/VTF. Within the parameters it is all a matter of what you hear and like, something that cannot be done for you. 

If you like what you are hearing now, be happy and put you hands back in your pockets, it can get worse you know. :-)

Newbee,

you’re right, it’s already begun.  
But this time, my eyes are open.

If you want the best from your table, hire a setup guy if there is one available in your area. It gave me the piece of mind it was done correctly.