Mjdavis1994

So I'm replacing the clutch on my TC however had a few questions. I can only assume the rust was the culprit here it took hours of prying to get the tranny off I've never had so many problems getting one out. Once it popped off and was pulled to the side I could see that EVERYTHING was covered in dust and rust. (Pictures will be included) I'm going to clean everything up however I was curious as to how this happens to this extent and the problems that could of arose? For example manually pushing and releasing the fork the bearing is completely dry and sticking. With that being said my clutch pedal had about an inch and a half of play before being completely released and would stick right there after the clutch was released. I can only assume that's because the piston from the slave had to travel before hitting the fork?

Also my new clutch looks different than the old one and the new pressure plate is way heavier. It's a OEM replacement from autozone I was wondering if anyone had ever used this replacement? Or why there is such a weight difference? I'm just trying to get everything straight before I get the flywheel back from the machine shop tomorrow. Thanks