Bob, I would think they use the colors on the timer to coordinate with the push buttons on the left. The push buttons were supposed to reference a particular type of FABRIC.
This washer has the toggles, instead of the buttons, which merely designate speeds and temps. The colors on the dial would be relatively meaningless, in this case.
I'm guessing you had a more deluxe model with the push-buttons? Although, I've seen the toggles with the 3 speed selector switch: Fast/fast("Normal" wash), fast(wash)/slow (Permanent Press ?), and slow/slow (Delicates).
I always thought the middle one should be slow(wash)/fast(spin). That was nearly always the speed selection I chose when using a GE FF.