I'm getting concerned now.
I registered through the Deere parts site and discovered that some of those parts for the steering are NLA!!! I thought you could ALWAYS get parts for a DEERE! Jeez!
The rest of the story...
I bought this tractor sight unseen...my Dad turned it up in the classifieds near where he lives. He went to look at it and gave a fair report ...the steering issue is a big deal but the price was right (at least I think so) $5600 for a 2040 with a FEL and box blade. It ran, didn't smoke, everything worked and I had the money. Dad negotiated him down to $5300 and I sent the $$$.
Heck, I won't even get to play with it until next week!
Anyway, I'm crossing my fingers that I can figure out how to solve the steering problem and restore this beast to life...I've done it with other stuff, why not a tractor?