Y'all thanks... had to go out of town and just got back yesterday to finally get to truly checking this mower out. Turned out to just be the drive belt had popped off of the big rear pulley. I could have sworn it felt like it was still on but I couldn't see it was off until I jacked the mower up...
Hello forum! I have what is probably a 1998 Craftsman 6-speed/ 42" EZ3. This might be very similar to an LT1000. I didn't really hit a brick wall but it darn near felt like it. There is a small area of my yard near a tree where grass doesn't grow and the dirt that was butted up against sidewalk...