put a decent blade on and try again. make sure it doesnt have too many teeth- 3 should be in the wood at a time, so 3-4 TPI for 1" thick (you dont get so many blades with less than 3tpi, so worry about that if you are cutting thicker stuff).
make sure that the tension is correct- too much tension can be as bad as too little, although I dont really know why. The guides are ok, but you could replace them with Lignum vitae ones if you desire. bearings are probably better, but these are not what is causing your issues.
Dont worry where the blade is on the bottom wheel. They should be set right, and you open up a lot of pain if you start tweaking them before you fully understand it.
I would stake a fiver that your issue will be due to the blade. if you need blades, tuffsaws have been the best that I have had, both price and quality.
