some issues i am having with my wifes bike

[heartlandcruisers]

well my wife's bicycle and my latest big score is having some issues I cannot figure out.
the first is the steering I have regreased the bearings and cleaned out the dirt and when I tighten the bearing seat down( I think that's what it is called the round piece on the headset underneath the big washer lol) the steering gets tight.
I haven't noticed the forks being bent and I even swapped the bearings still too tight when I tighten the bolt
any ideas on this?
the second problem could be related but im unsure of
when I ride the bike it wants to pull to the right which I figured was an alignment issue but after inspection I did not see anything out of alignment it almost causes me to dump and I am a very skilled rider ( when im sober lol ) my wife already fell off it which is why I checked it out
I am hoping the issue isn't where the frame was repaired at one point it looks like it was repaired correctly and it is on the top tube, but I do not know if this could affect the alignment.
any ideas how to fix these or check any specific areas that might be causing this?
thanks
Sean

 

[Wildcat]

Post some pics for a good answer. It sounds like it has some serious issues, but it may be something simple also.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

I will post some pics as soon as I can my phone quit so have to use my webcam to take pics

 

[RustySprockets]

Caged bearings in the headset? Sounds like you might have one or both installed upside-down. That will definitely cause binding. Remember, the open side faces the cup--the closed side faces the cone.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

problem solved I took the entire front end apart cleaned everything regreased everything and reassembled everything and its working great it doesn't even pull anymore
and yes I had the top bearing in backwards so yes that was definitely part of the problem she runs like night and day now
thanks for the advice all
sean