I've not had good luck with anything but powders in my 17.  My favorites are Cascade complete and Finish powder.  However, it almost sounds like your machine is not moving enough water if dishes on the bottom also come out dirty.  This could be an easy fix.

I had this problem with my 15 but turned out to be the Wash Arm support.  If this is a low use machine it's hard to say whether that would be the issue here or not.  Mine had been "road hard and put away wet" so I wasn't surprised to see that issue with mine.

I'm sure you'll get the help you need here!!  It looks like a beauty!!

Morning Friend,

I was looking through some eBay posts today and ran across this one.  It made me think of your situation.  I'm not sure if you ever solved your issue with cloudy glasses but this is the wash arm support that fits your dishwasher.  It's NIB and a great price.  They don't come up often like this and when they do they are usually twice this price.

Even if you don't need it right now this is a good part to have on hand because they usually do fail at some point.

Ralph

This is, without question, an outstanding dishwasher.

It is, also, many decades old. You've gotten some good advice here, so some of this is repetitive. It is, however, how I begin with a vintage 'working' dishwasher I want to restore.

1) Clean everything, especially the filter. KitchenAid relied on filters much more than did GE or Whirlpool.

2) Check that the rinse-aid and detergent dispensers are actually working. 

3) Water level is critical in these machines. Right below the 4-arms. Or just barely not touching.

4) Speaking of which, are the holes all clean? Is the support broken (easy fix)? Are they rotating during wash?

5) Water input has to be at least 140F, we use 145 for our KitchenAid 15 Portable. Run the water at the tap until it really is where it needs to be. Anything less is going to diminish cleaning.

6) Only the best detergents will do. A teaspoon of TSP (the real thing, not the substitute) in with the tab or powder will make a gigantic difference.

7) Ditto rinse-aid. Lemony Shine seems to make all the difference in the world.

8) Loading. This is the one and only aspect of KitchenAid which I dislike. You must load things PRECISELY according to the manufacturer's directions or some things in the top rack won't come clean. The constant spray is nice, but it (obviously) can't clean the underside of things in the top rack, should the lower arm not reach them.

9) Is everything draining properly? Any siphoning? Either can cause the problems you're having. A partially blocked drain, especially.

Lovely machines. Wish they'd never been sold to Whirlpool.

I have not had good luck with Tabs in these vintage machines.  I get way too much foam in them.  Other than that this is a great list I will keep for myself as well.  I have good luck with Finish Powder (less expensive) and Cascade Complete.

Thanks!!