Granted I've only put about a gallon and a half through the engine.. Here's my start process. Out of the box(remove the spring on the throttle assembly), choke on, throttle at full, flip it about 20 times to get it primed. Turn the ignition on then flip it until it pops. Usually about 3 flips. Put the throttle to idle, turn the choke off, then flip it. Usually the first or second flip. Should start right up! A few posts up talks about the needle valve process. 32:1 Lawnboy or comparible and you're good to go. Today I did that start procedure, and then flew about 1/2 gallon of gas through it(roughly 7 flights). After the initial flight, I did not need to do the choke process. Starts at idle with no more than 3 flips. Now how will it do longevity wise? Don't know. This post has been around for ages, and LOTS of guys still fly this engine.