The only time cord was operable when the *brake* was off.
That would make perfect sense since the needle bearing inside the clutch bell is welded together from overheating. Now everything is linked as one solid assembly without any 'freewheeling' ability.
Dealer says clutch and *brake* are fried. Sounds like *brake* may have been partially engaged.
Ya don't really see a brake 'partially' engaged. Pretty much either on or off. And from the damage that was done, there's no doubt the brake was engaged.
Im an ASE Master Tech and looking at the schematics of this saw the *brake* holding doesn't sell to me.
For some reason, the brake was engaged. That could be either when kickback caused engagement or if you accidentally moved it to the engaged position, thinking it was the disengaged position. It can happen. How come the brake holding doesn't sell to you? We can better explain it if needed.
A dull chain is what dealer is saying. (you know I ain't buying that on a 6 week old machine)
Like someone said above, it takes 1 second to dull a chain if the conditions are right. There could have been a hidden nail or bullet or piece of fencing lodged in the middle of a tree. That could happen to a brand new chain. And even if you didn't hit any metal, some guys here will cut up 20 cords of wood in 6 weeks. That'll dull a chain. I had a coworker buy a brand new 290, cut up one downed tree with it, and then complain it wasn't cutting fast any more. I looked at the (obviously rocked) chain and asked him if he's using a log peavy or something similar to elevate the log while bucking it. He said, "No I just cut a little bit into the dirt until the saw is all the way through the wood." The saw had a total of one tank of fuel through it before the chain was shot.
But I still don't understand why the dealer would say a dull chain would cause the brake to engage while cutting, causing your clutch to overheat.