To start with, if the front derailleur worked before and didn't loosen up then don't touch it. If you have moved it then it will need to be set up before you do anything else. First remove the cable and crank the lower screw in till the outer edge of the derailluer is flush with the large chainring. If it won't travel that far then you need to put something in the mechanism to get the outer edge of the guide flush with the big ring. Holding it by hand can be done but it is a bit tougher that way. New derailluers come with a plastic block to hold the guide out. Now tighten the clamp when the guide is parrallel to the large chainring and clears the teeth by about 1/8 inch or just a little less. When you played around with the top limiter did you remove the cable? Adjusting the front derailleur is very simple as long as you do things in the right order. Now with the cable off and the derailluer in position unscrew the lower limit screw so the guide returns back to normal. Then with the crank on the smallest chain ring and the rear on the biggest sprocket, adjust the lower set screw so the guide just clears the inside of the chain when you turn the crank. Now move the rear to the smallest spocket and move the derailleur by hand to shift to the large chainring. Adjust this set screw so it just clears the outside of the chain when you turn the crank. Let it go and it will shift back to the small chainring. Now attach the cable with a strong pull from your hand and tighten it up. You may need to add some cable tension at the down tube to get it properly tensioned but you should be able to shift it up to the large chainring and not have the cable too tight. If you do this in this order than it should work perfectly. If the front derailluer was never damaged then replacing it will give you the same trouble. Just get this properly adjusted in the right order without the cable attached and you should be fine.

Good luck.

Greg

Opps I took to long to write this. HillRider sent you to the right place.