The amount of resistance you refer to sounds about right. I've never seen one lock up to the point where you could not push it around by hand.

"In other words, when i spin the fan (by "flicking" it), it makes about a quarter turn and comes to a rest. when i keep my finger on the blade and push it around, it turns pretty easily? is this normal?"
Yes, that is pretty much normal.

What I do to check the function of a fan clutch is to block the air flow in front of the radiator, install a thermo couple wire under the upper hose so I can monitor engine temp with my Fluke meter, and then block the throttle open with a ball point pen at about 2500 RPM. When it reaches around 210 or so the fan clutch should be fully engaged and you will notice this by the roaring noise as it hooks up and starts moving air. Pull the card board from the front of the radiator and see how fast it pulls the engine temp back down.

From your description of your problem you may have a faulty fan clutch but it could just as easily be a clogged radiator. Either way I would stuff a new thermostat in it when I did either repair, it is cheap insurance.

Mark