There is no law stating that you have to ship it overnight or let FedEx know that it is a firearm, that's just FedEx company regulations. Just pack it beforehand, show up at the FedEx shipping hub, hand it to them, and ship it 2nd Day Air. If they ask what it is, tell them "machined parts."
Animal Mother,
I hate to burst your bubble but there is most definitely a federal law. You're advising folks to commit a felony.
From the ATF's own site:
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/unlicensed-persons.html#shipping-firearms-carrier
Q: May a nonlicensee ship a firearm by common or contract carrier?
A nonlicensee may ship a firearm by a common or contract carrier to a resident of his or her own State or to a licensee in any State. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun. In addition,
Federal law requires that the carrier be notified that the shipment contains a firearm and prohibits common or contract carriers from requiring or causing any label to be placed on any package indicating that it contains a firearm.
[18 U.S.C. 922(a)(2)(A), 922(a) (3), 922(a)(5) and 922(e), 27 CFR 478.31 and 478.30]
WifeofBleys:
Any FFL dealer can use the postal service to ship a handgun. If you are up a creek and if it turns out that you must send it back to Taurus, the dealer who sold it to you can mail it back for less than $10.00. If the people at the shop are at all ethical, they won't charge you anything above that for doing so. Actually, they should just mail it back on their own dime because, after all, they did sell you a bum gun. I would guess that a return from a dealer would maybe get a little more attention from Taurus anyway because, to them, alienating one of their distributors would be more costly than alienating a mere single-purchase customer.
Not to depress but you may be waiting for a long time. I have a friend who has twice sent off the same gun to Taurus only to get it back with the problem still un-fixed. After 8 months of frustration, he just gave up. Good luck with this. You're not alone.