By "not pump", I mean I can compress the pumping arm only to a point and it meets a stop/very hard resistance. It has increasing resistance as I move the arm, so it feels as if pressure is being built but it gets to a point (I have shown that location by where my hammer is placed in the pic) and it stops.The bolt does activate the hammer and I can verify the trigger system now works.I was also able to insert a wooden dowel into the gun and feel that the valve does move...not frozen.Any ideas? It's almost like the plunger is hitting the valve assy?
Couple thoughts:1. The pic showing how far you can close the arm based on the hammer location. Would have me to believe no amount of adjustment on an adjustable rod would only allow it to close that little. I still say you are about 3-4 inches away from making contact with valve face.2. With using rust buster (brass tube and barrel so no rust) I feel you would have at least loosened/softened any gunk in the tube. Which then would have allowed you to complete a pump and forced all the gun into valve. Then out of valve when you cock and shoot rifle. 3. One reason pump arms won't go pass a certain point is valve lock. But, you said you where able to insert wooden dowel and move the valve. So you mean you could depress the valve stem and you could feel the spring, behind valve stem, pushing it back up into place? If that not what you are referring to bang on that wooden dowel to force valve down. If it's valve lock the hammer doesn't have enough force to make rifle shoot out the air when cocked. 4. You've said you had the rifle apart besides going into valve. Also, stated you could tell the rifle has been apart because of roll pins. Have you banged out the roll pins and visually looked down the tube where piston travels? Maybe something found its way down that tube during a rebuild? Maybe hammer? You can't feel it cause the hammer is sticking to valve face or pump cup from forced pumping?5. All else fails you gotta go into valve.
Ya'll ain't gonna believe this....As soon as he said the hammer was missing that was my first thought.. Then I laughed at myself and decided it would be the dumbest thing ever to post... almost as dumb as actually doing it. I'm glad someone else said it first and honestly... I hope it's in there.