rsfire,
Are you saying that when you first move the levers, that the lift arms or bucket moves down? There are built in check valves to prevent the cylinders from moving when shifting the levers, but if he changed out the valve, ??? but then again, did he actually change out the valve. Did it look like a new valve? In any case, he should have tested it out after changing. Did you test it at the repair shop/distributor?
If the spools are good and tight , you should be in hydraulic lock, no where for the fluid to go. If you don't like it that way, make the service manager/technician come out and fix it.