Matt,
I don't like using a starter at all but sometimes its better to swallow the pride and fly. I really like to have things adjusted properly and use the backflip. So when I resort to the starter I hear about it from my fan club. Pete Cosky always comes over and inspects my spinner to look for telltale starter marks so I polish my spinners on a regular basis to keep him shut up. Then he shows off hand starting his YS140.

Are you using a choke servo or just a rod? Have you considered using a starter and doing away with the choke all together?
Could there be any potential damage done to the motor using a starter? Any shortening of life of the motor?

Thanks for the help,
Rick