I guess I was veering off topic a bit- I think the thing is, we can be hard nosed about this stuff, but if we are then we need to be VERY certain that we are "right". And if the reason the other team appears to be struggling is simply that they have a more difficult task, well then pushing them won't really have a positive effect.

It seems, though (based on only the limited information I've provided you guys), the sentiment here agrees that lack of unit tests is an issue (as I've thought) and this is something we should be willing to push on. I'm also thinking (based on this thread) about what doing away with the Front End vs Back End designations might produce and seeing if that might be something to try as well. I am hesitant on this because we ARE getting a big boost of speed by having the two of us focusing on back end stuff- we are blazing through it MUCH faster than anyone else would just because of our familiarity with the business domain (he and I worked on a system with the same business logic at a previous company). That being said, it is difficult to "lead by example" if we are completely cut off from the development work the other team is doing.