I had the same growing pains as you. I busted my shift lever also, but it was when I was taking out the tranny and wasn't careful. You CANNOT pull the cord all the way out till it stops. That is what breaks those, you have to stop it before you get to the end of the line, the manual states "No more then 8 inches each pull". As for the Roto Start, you are not supposed to add it until at least 1 gallon of fuel has been run through the engine (The manual states this also). I am coming up on my 1 gallon and have ordered mine. Mine is A LOT easier to pull after the gallon and starts after about 2 pulls so the Roto Start is going to be a welcome. Mine was so difficult to pull when I was breaking it in that I got blisters on my fingers! Now its night and day. A trick I read about after the fact is to loosen your glow plug a quarter turn while starting, and after it is started tighten it back on. I tried it and it worked fine, but now that I am almost through the first gallon, its not needed. As for durability, two of my buddies have T MAXX's, another has a REVO, and my other buddy has a Savage X. We went out in the snow and cold and jumped them, all equally. Lets just say that my GST and my buddies Savage X were the only ones that hadn't broke anything at the end of the day. Its a tough truck, just make sure you read through the manual thoroughly and DO EXACTLY WHAT IT SAYS. This will save you money and keep the truck running for a long time-