My immediate problem is that my electric dryer heats up to high and shuts down before getting to the cool-down part of the cycle. After the hot shut-down, the dryer smells and feels quite hot and it will not restart immediately, but will restart after the machine has cooled off. Possibly related, the performance of the dryer has been degrading over the past couple of years, requiring more and more time to dry a load of clothes. The vent and inside of the dryer have been thoroughly cleaned. The thermal fuse looks good and shows continuity. The high limit thermostat and the cycling thermostat also show continuity. The dryer functions normally (apparently) in the no-heat mode. Does this sound like a cycling thermostat failure?

I disassembled the dryer to get a look at the blower/motor seal, and was surprised to see that the plastic portion of the blower that the seal rides on has a square cross section (with radiused corners, but still). The felt seal did not look particularly blown-out, or worn. I did note, however, that the seal on the back of the drum was fairly worn. The paint rignt next to where the drum seal rides is discolored brownish, as if it has been sort of toasted. I am at a loss as to whether to proceed with replacing just the cycling thermostat or trying to replace the drum seal at the same time. This is a 16 year old dryer that sees pretty heavy use, and I wonder how much more life is left in it.

Replacing the rear drum seal took care of the problem. The dryer is running normally once again. Thanks for the response!:)