I had this problem – where my GE Quite Power 3 (model: GHDA480N10WW) would only partially drain … sometimes more, sometimes less.
Mine has no piston and nut assembly. The check valves are just rubber flaps and it has two motors: one for washing/grinding, one for draining. I’m not sure the mechanical design could get any simpler. After checking all the parts over for proper operation, it was clear everything was working properly (putting it in service mode really helps – mine came with a slip of paper tucked into one of the legs with the schematic, some basic troubleshooting steps, and details on service mode operation). I was baffled to the point of thinking I should blame some sort of timing fault in the control unit, but then while troubleshooting it, I saw THE CORN.
Ah, CORN, that ubiquitous side dish that not only passes through your digestive system intact, but also passes through the Power Quiet 3 grinding pump intact.
The corn, apparently, was getting hung up in the middle of the drain hose, slowing water flow so that the time allotted for the drain cycle was not long enough to push all the water out at the slower rate.
The hose that came with mine is just a very poor choice: the inside diameter is 1/2 inch in diameter and it is corrugated on the inside. Fortunately it is translucent so I could see stuff flow through (or not). I ran the thing a couple of times and watched stray corn kernels get hung up inside, the water flow rate plummet, and the drain cycle complete with water still in the dish washer. When I ran it with the unit completely clean (i.e., no CORN), it drained properly.
I replaced the drain hose with one with a larger inside diameter and that is smooth on the inside and the dish washer drains perfectly now.
As a side note: I think it might be washing better now as well. I suspect any larger food particle (e.g., BEANS) would get hung, at least temporarily. I hypothesize that often a little water was remaining from the wash cycle and getting blown back onto the dishes in the final rinse, thus leaving food particles inside my glasses to be consumed again by the less observant. I think it drained in the end as the rinse drain cycle, or late wash drain cycle, knocked loose the food particle hung up in the drain hose.