I am almost certain I have figured it out!
The last time this happened, I totally ruled out asthma...no way I had asthma. However, this time around I treated like it was allergy induced asthma. I was told to take inhaler 2x morning and 2x at night and 24 hour allergy med. THIS has worked. Completely back to normal. This makes sense, because I tend to get this when the seasons change-always in early spring and late summer.