Your description sounds very normal to me. I would run it quite a bit without the driveshaft making double sure the front doesn't try to lock up. If not, work your way back. I cannot see how the drive shaft could cause lockup. Not saying it can't.
I tilled our front yard last night and it worked just fine. Going to go over it again tonight and if it survives that one I am going to assume that the front end is fine.
I think next I will put the drive shaft back on but take the dog off the 4wd lever in the drop box and see what happens.
Ok, here is a question on the drop box function and how things are supposed to work. I have it taken off the tractor right now. The bent part looks almost perfectly straight right now, I must have gotten it somehow 2 years ago when I started this mission.
Drop box has a shaft running into it and it sticks out the front an inch or two where the 4wd drive shaft attaches. When the 4wd lever is pushed forward it pushes the gear back and engages the other gear as it should. You can spin either the gears or the shaft stub that sticks out and the other one turns. That is how I think it should work. However; when you put it into 2wd, the lever does disengage the bottom gear by moving it forward as it should. BUT when I grab the stub that sticks out, you cannot turn it at all. In thinking of what Aaron told me way back when.....when the 4wd axle is off, the stub where it attaches at the front of the tractor should still be moving even if in 2wd but the one at the back should not be moving in 2wd if the 4wd axle is off. Everybody seemed to think that made sense.
But if, and I believe it is, the 4wd shaft is a solid rod when it is put back on and you are in 2wd and the front "stub" is turning...would this not make the 4wd axle turn? If this is true and the axle is turning, then the rear stub would have to be turning but it would not be in 4wd as the bottom gear in the drop box is disengaged. So what would make the rear stub coming out of the front of the drop box not turn right now???? I think this may be the problem, of course I'm half nuts and zero mechanic.
Is this what would cause the tractor to not function properly when it has the 4wd axle installed and it is in 2wd????
I just had these two threads mixed up again and looked back to the beginning when it started. 3/29/14. I hope it don't take that long to get the Rear 2wd drive working.
First scan out of the 2210 manual. Note the front shift arm #9 pointed down. Next scan out of the 276 manual. Note the front shift arm #12 pointed up. Is yours like either of these and are you confident your shift arm is pointed in the right direction?
When the drop box is in 2wd the shaft that the drive shaft connects to should turn freely. Sounds like you have a problem in your drop box.

