Reply to "URGENT HELP - roadtrip suspension issue"

Jimlah; It sounds as if your retainers, or retainer ring has come apart, rendering your spring useless. Essentially its the same as when you took your springs off from around the shock absorbers, the spring is just floating free around the shock.
When you pull the front back up, you're assisting the shock, as the spring would, to become fully extended again: however, once you hit a bump, the shock collapses, and can't rebound to full extension.