CAT 304 CR NAD02115 Aux Pilot Valve

I'm having issues with my aux pilot valve. I don't have anything on them but do have a thumb I want to put on later. I notice when I engage hydraulics, sometimes the pedal jumps and I lose major power/speed to many parts (stick, boom, travel). I tried to engage the little lock on the pedal but sometimes that causes the issue versus fixing it. Its very random. Sometimes the lock helps hold it in place to keep from pressure being used up by the aux pedal and other times I have to take off the lock and push down towards me on the pedal to get power. I noticed each time I engage/disengage the hydraulic lock, it works and doesn't work. I see the pedal jump. This is the first piece of equipment I've ever owned so very very new to all this. Could it be that I need to take the pilot valve apart to check for debris and try to add or remove shims to tighten it up? Any other help would be so greatly appreciated.