furnace squirrel cage only turns if I use hand

When was it lubricated last? I'm not familiar with that model, but it is

Very slim chance, but it is possible something got sucked in and wrapped around the shaft causing it to turn hard.

The gas shuts off because the heat exchanger reaches the high limit set point. That is a safety feature.

I've never lubed it, in fact, I can't find a lube bolt, so I'm assuming it is self lubricating. However, I am a novice so I'm not sure. I think you're right though and the bearings are probably shot, so I'm probably looking at having a new blower put in. Thanks for your response.

Hi, Replacing bearing is not that difficult. Replacing whole motor will cost some dough.

I would check the motor starter (if it has one) and the relay that turns the motor on.

The gas is turning off cause of a temperature alarm or aair movement not detected.

If you have a setting for blower only that can help determine the fault .

It might have a internal cintrifugal starter switch inside the motor, simple to replace, or a capacitor on the outside that needs to be replaced.

went through this on an exhaust fan recently... flip the switch and it just hums. I was about to replace it, when I pulled it out and looked at it... it was dusty as all hell. Blew off the dust and hit it with a coat of CLP (that's the firearm version of WD-40 and it won't rust, and it's better... get it at walmart in the gun section for about $4 a can)

Anyhow, my fireplace blower had a similar problem... no matter how much lube I put on it, it still requires a little assistance to get moving every now and again.

Long story short... lube it. What's the worst thing that can happen, that you break it?

Small chance it's a bad run capacitor. But, it's also very likely to be a bad motor. Call a furnace repair company before you get any colder.