Need help wiring a 3 way switch

Colors in cables are to distinguish the wires onside the cable. They are not there to color-code by function. That situation is sufferable in simple switch circuits, but it quickly becomes intolerable in a 3-way. I strongly recommend always color-coding by function, and you do that by marking wires with colored tape, a 5-pack is $4 at the big-box.

Aim to mark both ends of the wire, and mark them the same of course.

Now here is what a 3-way switch circuit looks like.

That's simpler than you expected, isn't it? Notice there is no need to distinguish the two yellow travelers from each other; exchange them and it still works. So I would start by tagging both ends of the travelers (white/red as you surmised) with yellow tape, just to get it out of your hair.

Now you see where the common wires on the two switches actually go to different things. One gets supply hot from source, and the other gets switched hot to the lamp.

Cable 3 is source, so cable 2 goes to the lamp. I would mark its "hot" with red tape, since it is switched-hot. Now, that can either go to the local switch's common, or the remote switch's common.

I don't care which, but for symmetry I might make switched-hot the one that comes down from the remote switch.* So tag that black wire in the /3 with red tape.** Then, always-hot goes to the common of the local 3-way, so it becomes a third pigtail off the supply.

Now you've tagged two wires red, join them. Join the whites also. See how this corresponds to the above diagram.

*Another advantage: it eliminates always-hot in the remote 3-way, which removes temptation to try to use it for something, and then bootlegging neutral from ground or another circuit's neutral.

** instead of marking the black "red", you can just rearrange the wires so the black/white are travelers, and red is the common.

So I figured it out. I ended up wiring up cable3/4/5 to eliminate those wires and have SW2/3 work perfectly; then I just had 5 wires to work with (the 1 Red from Cable1 I assumed would be a traveler, so didn't have to test that). I just plugged the black/whites, one at a time, from cable1/2 to the wire nutted cable3/4/5, matching colors, and starting checking voltages. Turns out when I wire nutted black from cable1, turned the power on, and switched the other 3way switch, voltage would switch between Red and White from cable1. Put those 2 on the travelers, put Black from cable2 to Common terminal, then wire nutted white from cable2 to cable3/4/5 and voila, all lights work as before!

I know people asked for a diagram, any easy way (program/site etc) to create one for posting in this space?