Re: 1988 30 hp Evinrude slipping under load?
Could also be cavitation (surface air getting to prop). Too large of a diameter prop, motor trim to high, or a broken anti-cavitation plate can cause that.
Also the wrong pitch prop can cause slippage as well.
So if the hub is not slipping, which you are checking, you may want to check into cavitation before tearing it apart. Since it just started happening, I'd have to ask; did anything change with the boat. New prop, less load (rear of boat is sitting higher in the water for some reason), is any of the anti-cavitation plate broken off, is the trim of the motor higher for any reason?
Godd luck!