Very stiff front suspension

from the text, I'm guessin it was like this when you got it. Here's what I would do. Get it on a drive on rack where it will be supported by the tires. Get under it and loosen up ALL the control arm mounting bolts. It sounds like somebody torqued somethin down while the wheels were in the air. Be careful though, cause if you find an offendin joint, the car could drop down some. I'd do the same for the strut rods, too. It wouldn't hurt. when you get them all loosened up good, jounce the heck out of the front end, let it settle down and then retorque it all back.