My dryer is running fine, except tonight it started making a loud banging sound as the drum turns. It sounds as though there is a pair of tennis shoes tumbing in it. Any suggestions on what the problem might be. It makes this sound whether empty or loaded.

Yes, we did figure it out and I apologize, I should have posted the solution. It may not be what is wrong with your dryer, but here is what was wrong with mine. The dryer has a seam around the front interior which has a gap of about 1/4 ". This gap has caught clothing in the past, and they have become lodged in there during the drying cycle. Apparently what happened was a zipper head got caught in there, broke off, and actually ended up outside of the drum. The noise was coming from the seams on the exterior of the drum, knocking against the zipper head, as the drum turned. I had to call a technician to find this, but it was a cheap repair. Take the top off of the dryer unit, and turn the drum by hand you should be able to see/hear what is making the noise. That is how he found it. I don't know if this was very clear or not. Let me know if you need further.