(I tried it with a 12v, but not enough grunt to turn it over) I feel sure the Megatron starter would work fine, but I am trying to avoid the expense and the weight of the starter and battery.
Maybe you could do an experiment by hooking up 2 12V batteries in series (24) and trying your 12 V starter to see if it will turn the engine. Yeah, the 12v starter contacts may be a bit small
but if engine fires right off the load time is quite short.
After the pop, can you set your choke to like 50% and continue your routine?