Ariens MaxZoom 2560 transaxle will not bypass / go into neutral

[SJMaye]

I wanted to perform the purge for air in the hydrogear transmissions. I pulled both levers back as in the manual. They both pulled back, but I did not feel the bars lock on the the frame. The bars appear to pull back as far as the images in the manual. I expected the bars to have a notch to positively engage. They never did. I raised the rear wheels off the floor with jack stands and started the mower. After starting the mower and releasing the parking brake I slowly moved the steering levers back and forth. The videos I saw said the wheels should not turn when in bypass. Mine definitely did. And not just a little bit. With the wheels back on the ground and still in neutral I tried pushing the mower. I could not. It felt as if it were at least still partially engaged.

Does this make any sense at all?