Hello,
I was wrong- the 1st switch is 8 port and the 2nd one is 24 port. Both TP-Link Gagabit. My setup is what is recommended by Google. One input and one output. The output goes to the 8 port and one of those goes ports goes to the basement. The second switch was added after I finished the basement and added a lot of ethernet ports. I ordered a new 100' ethernet cable just to test to see if the cable between the two switches is compromised.

I think this issue may be relatvely new. I have the mesh wifi system with 2 satellites. Both satelites are hardwared for best performance. I would run a mesh test when it was newer and the connection was 'Excellent' now the same tests come back as 'Good' Both satellites are and have always been connected to the 2nd switch.  

good luck -jim