Update: I got my tractor back from the dealer today. I sure wish I could try adding the extra ballast weight to see if it has any effect, but I got it back in worse condition than when it went. I wasn't home when it was delivered, but I checked it out as soon as I got home. The 4wd lever now goes clear to the floor board and there is no longer any detent clicks, just a smooth glide from the the 2wd position to the floor. To make things worse, when the lever is down it is not engaged in 4wd even though the light it on. It's now screwed up more than it was. At least before I had 4wd even though it would pop out occassionally.
Tom, Smart move not letting them take your tractor!!!! Now the dealer is coming back out monday morning to pick my tractor up again for who knows how long. Needless to say I'm not happy!!!!!!
On the ballast issue: It may or may not work to prevent it from popping out of 4wd (yet to be determined) but I think the recomendation by Deere is a half *** solution to a design flaw. I've searched the internet extensively regarding this and no one is complaining much about their tractor of any brand popping out of 4wd unless they own a JD 2520. No one can tell me that it's unreasonable to expect your tractor to stay in 4wd with a modest load in the bucket with or without a ballast box. I agree that it is safer for stability purposes, but that isn't the question here.