2004 90 Merc Hard Start & Bogs Down

Hi my name is Tim,
Just bought a 2004 Tracker Targa with a 2004 90 Merc 2cycle. Motor only has 6 hours(looks brand new) I'm new to boats so i just had a couple of questions.

1) I noticed that it takes about 2-3 mins of starting(with alot of choke) and stalling before the motor will run on its own. (out of water & in Michigan weather) Is this normal??

2) The first two time I took it to the lake, once the motor was warm and at idle, went to take off and the motor bogged down and wanted to stall. Had to but the motor in nuetral rev it up then put it in gear and took off. Once it got going it ran fine but it happend twice. Any thoughts?

3) Went to winterize this weekend and notice some gas at the bottom of the carb cover. Courious if this is normal.

Re: 2004 90 Merc Hard Start & Bogs Down

Tim, your engine has obviously sat for quite a long time if it only has 6 hours on it. 1st, i would change the impeller, as they get hard and flakey, just sitting, you carbs are probably gummed due to sitting. suggest a complete carb cleaning and reassembly with rebuild kits. then a link n sinc, to make sure the carbs and electrical timing are set propery so the work together and give you top performance. even if it were a brand new engine out of the crate, i'd want a new impeller.