I'm having some trouble swallowing food without a drink to chase it down. Does anyone know what that might be?

The exact same thing happens to me. Drink plenty of water before, during and after you eat. I have an endoscopy already scheduled and will let you know what I find out if you'd like.

Look up Zenkers Diverticulum.
I had surgery for this about 6 months ago.

If u are worry go see a doctor. Could also see a dentist make sure your teeth and jaw are good

Dehydration..drink lots of water. Some meds will do this.

Does it feel like something is restricting your airway ...like something lodged there or just it takes more effort to keep swallowing

Is your voice okay

could be a wide range of things, consult your physician asap.

Autism can do that.

get a CT-scan or MRI-Neck done ASAP