Suzu 2.5 hp motor issues

[JeffM]

First trip with my shiny new Suzuki 2.5 motor (and only the second with my new  CS20 rig).  Motor performed well -- and saved my bacon when my mizzen sheet mysteriously came loose.   This morning I ran it a bit in freshwater, then shut it down briefly to change the setting on my tachometer (which had my idle rpm at twice what it should be).  Then, only a few minutes after shutting it down, I tried to restart it to see my new rpm reading.  Starter didn't disengage, but yanked the cord our of my hand leaving a gash and serious bruise.  This continued (sans injury) for several more tries.  Then I walked away and came back a few hours later and it started normally.

 

I had the same problem when I first bought the motor in later winter.  I took the recoil starter off looking for a problem, but found none.  Then a couple days later it started without incident, and today is the first recurrence.

 

I can't find anything about this online.  Anyone seen it before?  Know what to do about?  It would have been pretty catastrophic if it had occurred when I really needed it!

 

Unrelated motor question: the 2.5 moves the boat way better than I expected, and the boat moves at hull speed nowhere close to full throttle.  So now a propeller pitch question: the manual says a properly-pitched propeller should allow the engine to run at full throttle at the given rpm under a light load.  Suzi really likes full throttle and is meant to run at full bore most of the time, it says.  I'm guessing I need a propeller with less pitch so the motor can run at higher rpm without the boat going crazy.  Opinions?