[Maytagburned]

I posted yesterday and the post seems to have evaporated without explanation. My Maytag toploader all of a sudden, in a spin and rinse cycle started making a loud shrieking squealing noise, and the laundry room started filling up with smoke. Stopped the washer.. it was partially drained. Took off the belts and the Main Drive belt seemed to be burnt at one spot and glossy in a six inch length. The pump drive belt was fine.. no signs of wear or damage. Put in a new Drive Belt... same effect. Took off the main drive belt and let the pump empty out the water in the spin cycle.
Turned the SPIN cycle on and off by depressing the lid switch. Would hear a small sound (thump) and a tub would shake (attempt to start a rotation without success) and stop. Repeated several times with the same result. Tried to forcibly rotate the tub with the switch off... required a lot of force to get it to move.. almost like the tub was being held by the brakes. No extraordinary noise (like one would expect if a bearing was shot). I am afraid to attack the thing and take things apart pell mell. What is the likeliest source of the problem? What else can I do to diagnose it?
Please respond. Thanks.