I have re-sanded the entire bowl, including wet sanding. Let it dry. I was going to apply Danish oil  but then thought I would try Mahoney’s walnut oil instead. Mixed reviews on it about hardening, drying time, etc. I thought this might be a finish I could use and not have to topcoat with lacquer or poly.
After a couple of days drying it looks good so far. Going to do at least one more coat and then let dry for extended period. I have placed in my kiln, fan and heat, at about 80 degrees.
Will post results.
Thanks everyone

Finally finished . It's a solution that worked. Maybe not the best one but I was getting desperate.
I sanded it all back then applied three coats of Mahoney's Walnut Oil. Let each coat dry. Then buffed and applied Ren wax and polished that.
It really soaked up the walnut oil. Probably could have applied more. It was interesting in that the walnut oil dried very smooth without even removing excess. It just seemed to soak in. Left a matt finish so the buffing and wax helped give it  little sheen.
Overall I am pleased with the results. Still do not know what caused the problem in the first place. But, as always seems to be the case, I learned something.
Thank you all for your responses and help.