There is no need to hold the plug against the engine while you flip it. The DA ignition, along with almost all of the modern ignitions, gets its ground through the HT wire braid. You could be doing all sorts of damage gouging around with a screwdriver in the cap.

IIRC, you must be spinning the hub at least 400 RPM for the ignition to fire. This is a safety feature which prevents firing when the user is positioning the prop.