I suggest you post on the plumbing forum. You'll get better responses there.

electrical heaters sometimes (if not all times) come with two heating elements, sometimes both with their own thermostats. Chances are that one of them (i guess the bottome one ) is not working. These are replaceable.

8 years is a pretty long run for any inexpensive water heater these days. Even if you can replace the element yourself, you'll still need to think about replacement soon. If you have to pay labor, there is no question that replacement makes more sense.

Thanks all for your input. I will research the heating element cost versus the full replacement. I would try to do the work myself so would save some money there. And I will also follow your advice weissman and post on the plumbing forum.

Appreciate the direction!