Finally!  The mower is out of the shop!  Almost $200 later, it runs, but is no longer self-propelled...the drive train is out, and not worth fixing per the shop (I'm glad they told me that rather than bill me a gazillion dollars....)  The back lawn was easily a foot tall in some areas.  AJ weed-eated while I mowed the front (much shorter) and then I started the back.  You know it's tall when the bottom layer is yellow from lack of sunlight....

AJ took over mowing from me when he finished weed-eating.  Since the mower is now a push mower, I was quite happy to let him take it!  Due to the height of the grass, the mower died every few seconds/inches.  What is usually a 45 minute job for one of us to weed-eat and mow turned into a 2 hour job with both of us working it.  Now to shop for a new mower.....this one will be great for heavy-duty jobs like this, but I don't want to mow all summer this way.