Toilet dripping where tank meets throne

The bolt has a slight drip on one side. It appears to be where the tank bolts to the seat piece. When I tighten it, the drip increases to a steady drip. When I loosen it, it slows, then if I loosen it farther, it increases to a steady drip again. Is there a seal in there that could be bad. Do I have to empty tank and unbolt/ lift up off of throne and simply replace seal or does this appear to more a more complicated issue. Thanks in advance

You might save time in the long run to replace the seal and start over. It is possible the seal you have is damaged, and for no more than they cost, it's hardly worth the effort to try to reuse one.

There's a rubber washer under the bolt that goes from the tank to the bowl to hold things together. It should also have a metal washer to distribute the pressure and keep the rubber one flat, otherwise as you tighten it up, it could catch and kink or deform. This should be easy to see if you just take the tank cover off. If you use in tank cleaners (not recommended at all), then those chemicals can eat up rubber parts quickly, so you may need new washers.