My Craftsman started, but died after riding it a short distance and then it would not start again. Neighbor tried the battery from my mower into his and his did not start, which led me to believe that it was a dead battery, but when we tried the neighbor's battery in my mower the it still did not start (neighbor's battery is good because he rode his mower to help). What could be the problem?

If it is a simple problem like spark plug (I don't know how to replace it - may need help with that also) I would like to do it myself since service can't come out for another week and my lawn is already 6". :(

Thanks for any help - UJ

If your battery went dead it would not kill your engine while it was running. You'd still have spark so it may be a coincidence that you can't start your neighbors tractor. When you tried your neighbors battery did the engine crank and turn over or was there nothing? If it cranks remove the air cleaner and replace the fuel line filter while you are at it. Drain the fuel and refill with fresh fuel. Come back and tell us if there was any change.