im pretty darn sure its not the hub- and for some reason it did not have the problems yesterday. anyway, the hub is very new and the grease/lube in there was fresh looking and i just added a few small dabs of ring drive lube just in case it got a bit worn out.
i also dont think its a chainline thing because it worked fine before and im using almost the exact same chain type i had been using for 2 year (i ran 2 991 and now i went to a 971 cause it was free).
my only guess is that its some issue with chain meshing with worn chainrings/cassette (as ive never seen it happen this way) and causing undue friction. however, the cassette and even middle ring (where it was giving me the worst issues) look worn but not beyond the point of use. it shifts fine and stays in gear, even with my new chain. any suggestions?