I rechecked everything again and yes I had drive tension spring in the wrong spot and I had the drive disengaged. Misunderstood the diagram in my book.
I cleaned out all debris found. Pulleys moved. All connected correctly.
Why are the steer arms harder to move foward and backward?
Yes I'll take to the shop.
Ok I noticed loss of power, sluggish and steering arms harder to move. Noticed drive belt shredding and tension pulley broken. Replaced both and no change. Blades operate normal. Engine runs normal. Ideas please of what to do next. Oh yes. It's only 5 months old.