when I tighten up the drag it starts to bind and very jerky to turn the handle. when the drag is backed off the handle turns like normal. could it be the pawl?

It sounds like your click springs are in the wrong place

is this something that just happens after years of use.the thumb lever works perfect, when you back off the drag the handle turns freeley and the level wind moves like it should. thanks for the help.

So its been working for years and just started doing this? Or has it been taken apart and put back together recently? Ive run into similar issues like this if the mainshaft collar is not seated properly or if the anti reverse bearing is not seated properly. Then when you tighten down on the drag it can cause rubbing on the anti reverse bearing. This can also be the case if you are missing any washers/shims or have any installed in the wrong order/orientation. Hard to diagnose from a computer though.