Your machine has what is called a neutral drain. While the tub is draining the transmission is in neutral, so that it is not trying to spin a tub full of water. After the water drains the motor must pause for the transmission to shift into spin.

In your case the motor does not pause, so when you open the lid you are pausing it manually, which causes the machine to then go into spin. The problem is your timer, not your transmission which is good news as it is a less expensive part and easier to replace.

If you want to wait it out, you can keep raising the lid to start the spin, and sometimes the timer will work its problem out on its own.