Alright - an update...looking for some more input from those with more knowledge base than I.
Dan /
@TheOldHokie was kind enough to build me an inline pressure/flow test rig - basically a flow control valve and pressure gauge on a block and tee fitting. Thanks Dan!
I hooked up the test rig in-line to my "P" line coming from the pump, into the loader control valve. So basically the circuit is "P" line --> pressure gauge --> Flow Control Valve --> Outlet line back to "P" port on loader control valve. I opened the valve fully and started up the tractor and set the RPMS to ~2000.
With the flow control valve full open, I was getting 0 PSI on the gauge. As I closed the valve, no increase in pressure was noted - the needle never departed 0 PSI. This held for all the way to almost full close of the valve. Based on feedback from Dan, I should have seen pressure increase as I closed the valve.
I shut the tractor off, then pulled the "P" line off the test rig and dumped it straight into a clear plastic jug. Started the tractor up, and all I was getting for flow off the line was a continuous trickle, both at idle and at 2000-ish RPM. I kept the tractor running for about 30 seconds, no change. This would be like the same trickle if you just bumped your faucet past the drip drip drip stage.
Curiously, when I shut off the tractor, I did get a big, short gush of hydraulic fluid out the line into the jug, just before the engine fully stopped running (but only after cutting the ignition via the key).
I think I can say obviously that I'm not getting any pressure into the loader control valve. And that I'm not getting any notable flow, either. And I think the big "gush" I noted when turning the tractor off means I don't have a block in the circuit. I think this also tells me it's not a stuck relief valve in the loader control valve, since the above testing is functionally before that relief valve.
So what other checks should I make? Or is the problem already apparent based on the above? Is there another relief valve in the circuit ahead of the loader control valve?