Little to no suction from skimmer

Hey guys, new here, trying to find a knowledgeable forum to help me with my issue, I feel like I finally found it.  So here’s the low down:

I have a 24 ft round above ground pool.  Cartridge xtreme Hayward filter coupled with a Hayward powerflo xl 1.5 pump.  Cleaned the cartridge at the beginning of the season due to low pressure.  This fixed my problem for a couple weeks.  Now I have little to no suction resulting in no pressure from the return.  Everything is hose fed, all the equipment is about a year old. No air bubbles visible at the pump cover. Here’s what I’ve tried:

cleaning cartidge

replace skimmer hose

checked water level

cleared all baskets

lubricated gaskets

“Bubble” test at joints, nothing noticeable.

opening release valve on filter releases only water

the pump kicks on and runs without issue, but sounds “scratchy” as if there is always air in it.   I’m at a loss here guys, anyone have any idea where I should start?  Any info is welcome, I’m ready to disconnect everything and pull this pump apart.