I read a short story many years ago (80s) that I thought was by Harlan Ellison. The story is about a man who has some nagging feeling that he keeps living through reincarnation after reincarnation, lives usually and slowly getting better. Sometimes a mistake is made that throws him back down the chain.
Finally, after many many lives he’s about to break through a membrane like substance at his death into some nirvana like release but at the moment of this last life ending he has a small doubt (or thought??) that slams him back into human incarnation again.
Story has stayed with me for so long but I can’t find it.
You’re welcome. I looked up Harlan Ellison’s list of stories on isfdb.org, found a title that sounded promising, then googled for information on that title.