I could be that your strut insert is bad, which wouldn’t surprise me on an 8 year old machine. Pressure inside the strut insert should constantly forcing that center shaft up and out of the lower body. When you push it in (down) and let it go it should immediately come right back out (up) on its own. If it doesn’t you need to replace the strut insert. That still doesn’t account for your suspension feeling like it’s welded solid unless that shaft on the strut insert is immovable. Extended or collapsed on installation doesn’t matter, although it usually needs to be somewhat compressed to be able to get it under the fender and into the strut housing.

The up and down movement of that shaft is what dictates your suspension travel. The spring keeps the suspension “loaded” or riding high. When you hit a bump or land hard the spring compresses. The strut insert dampens the spring compression and extension. It limits how far the spring can extend (up) and to a certain extend how far it can compress (down), although the spring can only compress so much. If your suspension isn’t moving up and down the first place I’d look is to make sure the strut shaft is moving up and down. I’ve never seen one lock up without a bad seal and water inside. In the winter they’ll freeze and lock solid.

Let’s figure out why your suspension is locked before tackling the CV / axle issue, but don’t try to ride it until you’re sure the axles are in the CVs. I wouldn’t even ride it 10’, you could damage both the axle spines and the CV. I'll be away from the computer most of today. If you want my phone # go to one of the posts above that has a link to my email and I'll email it back to you.