Epson 1280 won't print on 10 mil paper

[Trigger 37]

I have printed many sheet before on 10 mil photo paper but now it won't print anymore. It prints the first 2 inches, then the printhead drags on the paper and smears the ink. The printer senses the drag and aborts the print and tries to feed another sheet of paper, but of course I only put in one sheet at a time on 13"x19 paper. Then it hangs with a "communications Error" with a RED light over the middle control button. All that Epson tech support will say is,... are you using Epson paper,... we don't support other paper. It will print OK on letter size standard bond, but if I put in any kind of card stock, or 10 mil Kirkland photo paper, same bad news.

Sounds to me like I need to make a visit to the Epson repair center or get Epson to send me a new printer. Any suggestions will be appreciated.