Craftsman pulling problems

AFAIK there is none.
The mower was made by AYP ( Husqvarna ) and they do not print service manuals either.
If there was one we would have directed you to it from the get go.
The owners handbook + parts list is the best you will do.
Even then, since the take over parts books are no longer downloadable for most models just the individual sections that can be printed off the Sears web site.

As it was not working when you got no reason to believe that the spring was in the correct place to start with.
These things are fairly simple and some thing as silly as having the spring too far back so the angles are wrong can cause your problems.
If the drive pulley or driven pulley was worn out then pulling back on the brake pedal would make no difference, the belt would still slip because it is trying to drive on the inside face and not the V's.

If the mower is up high enough take some photo of the tensioning arm, brake on, brake off & brake pedal pulled back and post them.
Also never trust any part.
Did you measure the new belt against the old one ?
V belts do not stretch ( much) they wear thin so go loose.

bertsmobile1; I'll take some pictures when I take it back apart and upload them. It seems like the idler bracket with the pulley's on it is as far as it will go thus still leaving a slightly loose belt. The belt is part# 140218; the correct one required for this mower. Would using say an inch shorter belt help any?

That belt codes out as an A 84.25 so a plain Kevlar wrapped A 84 would be a 1/4" shorter ( and a lot cheaper ) but that is putting a band aid on a broken leg.
However measuring it would not hurt Occasionally a belt is the wrong size in the right sleeve.
While you have the camera out take a shot of the tranny pulley & the engine pulley, Max may have been right but generally you should not be able to pull the lever up easily.
If the bottom of a pulley has a polished look at the very bottom then it has worn beyond it's useful limit.
he belt will also tell you this because it will be worn & generally burned on the inside surface which should never come into contact with anything.
The front sack pulley is a touch on the golden side.
When on site , I use the pull on the brake trick to determine if the belt is gone or the pulley is gone.
Pulling up works = belt
makes no difference = pulley.

Thanks guy's for your input. I got the mower where it pulls now. The oem belt was a 84.50 and I put a 83.75 belt on it and now it pulls fine. Evidently the trans pulley or the engine pulley or both is worn. The trans pulley shows more wear than the engine pulley but without changing the pulley's out I went with a shorter belt for now and it seems to have fixed it. Again Thanks for your replies.