like fish said check crankshaft first
-tip mower on its side carb up
- unplug spark plug
-pull rope watch center of blade it should not wobble if it wobbles you have a bent shaft and need to thinking about replacing engine or mower.
As for the fuel tank that can be tricky can try to rethread or try to replace the part it screws into or make your own I find some metal pieces of hardware from home depot two 90degree engorged bolt to deck and another straight piece of metal coming out of those same department and a piece of tin you can easily make a secondary bracket.