I would check the brake arm on the side of the transmission. Sounds like it might be stuck forward. If you look through from the underside, many times you can reach in and grab the disc. If it wiggles, your brakes are not locked anyway.

Thanks for responding. I have it jacked up. I got some dried grass and dirt cleared away. I have set and reset the parking brake and engaged and unegaged the freewheel. The only change I see is that the top spring assembly tightens and loosens and the freewheel assmble turns a lever of some sort and pulls a plate away from the rotor. Nothing else moves. When I engage the brake/ clutch all the pulley's that are supposed to move seem to move...

Might try getting a rattlecan of brake cleaner - spray that caliper assy shown in your pix down good and then work that park brake control off and on to free that mechanism up from stopping your tranny from turning in freewheel mode.

Thanks. Will try it. Also, don't know if it matters, but the rear wheels turn in opposite directions....I saw that on another post, but they too just jiggled and cleaned up and it worked. So far general jiggling and cleaning not working. Be back after cleaner with hopefully a positive report....

Well, given better light and a cleaner area - the news is very bad it seems to me. The following two pics show the brake engaged and disengaged and it is just fine. The rod above and behind that goes into the hydro housing - not so much. It appears to have been jammed up about an inch. We (mower and I) had an incident about a month ago where we tore something up, I wrenched a blade so I changed the blades. There was still a faint whine in gear. Guess this is the cause of the whine......

YIKES.

I think that is just a locator bracket /shift plate for the control. The wheels will typically roll in opposite directions due to the differential action. Your brake disc looks to be rusted to the shaft from where I sit. This means that it doesn't release itself (or doesn't fully engage) from the inside pad. Inside of that arm are 2 pins that squeeze the outboard pad into the disc into the inboard pad- so the disc is locked. If the pins are stuck and the pads are locking the disc, you won't move. If it was partially sticking before- an increased load may increase the noise of the tranaxel.

I got it into the garage - put the rear end on a furniture dolly and rolled it in. I will take the wheel off and pull off the caliper and disc. I may not have the tools I need to clean it up, but I can get it started. Thanks. I hope this is it, cause that other picture was terrifying. I could find any part though and was having difficulty even seeing on any diagrams. Still not sure what it is.

Well handyman came off vacation and looked it over. Got it started and it moves in gear, it loosened up enough to roll into the garage - still tight - normally I can roll it in free wheel and I could not - but he could. A week later - today- he comes over to check the trans fluid thinking it is low - it is full and clean. Thing has no more than 100 hours on it. The FreeWheel is simply not disengaging. And somehow it freezes up after sitting and not being run. Any thoughts would be appreciated - and btw the disc turns freely. Anyone have an in at HydroGear?

Moved over to hydrostatic drive problems.