[JoelD]

Sounds like it maybe wear in the pins and bushings (not sure if you've got bushings). There is bound to be some slack in the joints. My old Kubota had about 4-5 inches of play in the bucket. Post some picks of the up-right position and then the "you standing on the bucket" position. Could be acceptable slack.

If your hydro fluid was low you'd hear the pump wining and looking for fluid. The hydraulics would be super slow.