I have tried to remove the pto from my 51 77rc gas without much luck.


I have the main floor pan off and the pto shaft pulls out  quite a long way and I can feel it trying to mesh with the transmission while I rotate the shaft, but it will not come out.

What am I doing wrong?  Do I need to have the trans an a certain position or gear?
I have tried all kinds of different gear combos while my wife rocks the tires back and forth trying to find some sort of mesh so that the shaft will cone out.........but no luck.
There are no burrs or damage on the slotted end of the shaft. 
Im about ready to torch off the slotted end and be done with it but I do not want to destroy a good part.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.