I'm not very well acquainted with how floats work to shut off the pump, however I have checked the tank outside and the levels on the tank are fairly low. There is a device inside of the tank that is attached to a long power cable that runs into the house (I assume to the basement pump). The device has another device attached (via short cable) to it however both of the devices appear to sink inside of the tank.

Further complicating the matter is that heavy snow and spring rains have raised the water level of the nearby land much higher than normal. Can anyone tell me what might be wrong here?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F6Tv79p0Tk