Thanks for the replies. I took apart the gearbox again and this time crank WOULD NOT turn by hand. Well, it moved a little but not a full turn. If the crank is frozen, then the kickstart can't move either, so my logic has this pinned as the problem.

I think I may have a bad crank bearing.

I pulled the motor out this morning and will probably start opening it up on Monday. I figure at this point I might as well rebuild it.

I will be getting to know the NSR quite well it seems.

Adam