Inferring "condescension" from written texts is stretching things a bit. People sometimes have their own style of writing that might be interpreted as "condescending" if you are unable to hear their spoken words (tone of voice) or see any visual inflections that might accompany such an exchange. Some folks speak and write in abrupt fashion to attempt to capture the attention of the recipient of the message. Sometimes people utilize analogies to describe or clarify details when the topic is complex and the level of comprehension of the recipient is not known. In the end, I feel it is better to get rational, accurate advice in a terse or condescending manner (if that is how it is perceived) than to get bogus information in a syrupy manner. There is plenty of room and leeway for people to ask questions and for others to respond, in the manner that is their own, without resorting to bickering over the structuring of the written word. Just my opinion here.

Yoou didn't state what tractor you had, but I think if you look in the owners manual, it'll tell you to turn off the engine at higher speed. Thee carb has a fuel shut off solenoid that blocks the Main Jet when the key is turned off. The engine is supposed to keep turning over for a few seconds to "purge" fuel vapors from the HOT exhaust system to prevent after fire. Back fire is through the carb, BTW. What I would do, is put a strong dose of carb cleaner in the fuel and see if that might clean up a varnished Main Jet. A lot of people like Sea Foam. EPA Mandates require that these run on the lean side because of emissions regulations. There's really not much "wiggle room", if the jet gets slightly restricted, because it's aalready on the ragged edge of being too lean. Also- Check carb/intake mounting bolts.gaskets. A vacuum leak would also lean out the fuel mix.

On mine (Craftsman LT2000, 18 hp, B&S 31C707 engine) the choke was stuck closed. Raising the choke control up closes the choke, but when the lever was moved down for mowing after warm up, the choke did not open. So it died, smoked, etc. Deciding not to push it open every time, and deciding adding a string control was silly, I added a 25 cent spring from Ace Hardware; there was already a hole in the top part of the choke butterfly shaft, so I drilled a small hole in the reddish plastic housing, and ran the spring to that, works great now. I had read about others shaving down the shaft to make its diameter slightly smaller, but I like my fix better.

Yes, 31P777. We now need to consider 2 things that could be affecting this problem. First, when the engine does its "crank a bit" act...........do you mean it acts like it wants to crank but just moves slightly and then stops turning? If you wait a minute it will repeat that? and it might finally catch on and run, sometimes? If that is what it is doing, I suggest that the engine is probably past due for its recommended annual valve adjustment. Have the valves ever been adjusted in the time you have owned the tractor? But, if the action you are seeing/hearing produces a "rapid fire clicking noise" from the starter solenoid for a few tries and then finally does nothing............I suspect that the battery is not being recharged when the tractor is operated. If recharging with a battery charger, or boosting from a good battery produces a dependable cranking, that sort of points toward a problem in the engine charging system. I see that the tractor has a manually engaged PTO system. If there was an electric PTO clutch you would also be complaining that the deck would not stay engaged, and that would be a symptom to weigh in on the non charging scenario. It is real easy to determine whether the charging output is OK. All you need to do is read the battery voltage while the engine IS NOT running and write down the voltage on paper. Battery voltage at this point should read at least 12.3 volts and might even read 13 volts if it has been charged recently. Next, start the engine and run it at full throttle. After running for a minute (and while it's still running at high RPM) check the battery voltage again and write down the voltage on paper. The voltage should read at least 13.7 volts and hopefully as high as 14.3 or so. If you do not observe at higher voltage at max RPM compared to the not running battery voltage, your charging system is defective.