RE: Fuel? Glow plugs?
I prefer Trinity fuel myself(locally, it's either that or Traxxas). 20% nitro is all that you really need in it. As far as the glowplug, an OS LC3 is a direct replacement for the stock traxxas plug. You can also run an OS 8 in it, but you'll lose a little bit of power due to a lower compression.
The bog sounds like it's running either too rich or too lean. Is there a little bit of smoke coming out of the pipe, or is it billowing? If it's billowing, then you're too rich, no smoke and you're too lean. The highspeed being off will also cause you to not get those wheelies that your son is after, but the gearing also comes into play there.
Now for the million dollar question. Did you follow the breakin instruction in the manual? If you skipped them, you'll end up with the engine not lasting as long. I'm assuming you did. Even after breakin, you will see the power gain through the first half to full gallon of fuel. It took the OS18TM in my Revo about a gallon to reach full power, and the 2.5R it replaced about half a gallon.
Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.