Those pieces under the deck are baffles to keep the grass under the deck for mulching purposes rather than blowing out the front, back and left side if you had a mulching kit.
I have the exact same tractor with the LA344 bucket loader. The bucket stopped going up and down and the joystick for the bucket is locked and won’t move freely. Help.
Hi Obbie. Sorry for the late reply. Hopefully you already sorted this out, but if not, check the joystick lock lever on the fender right behind the joystick. It may have inadvertently slid into the locked position. It will keep the joystick from moving at all.