Best to disconnect the remote cables at the motor for test running and tuning. Use the lever on the shift side to manually put it in gear (straight up is neutral). On outboards, the lever is snapped into gear with the motor running, rather than eased into gear. You can shift gears with the motor off, but may have to manually turn the prop a bit to get the gears to mesh. Shifting has to be done with the throttle in the idle or fast idle range.
Throttle adjustment is done with the lever on the pan, at the base of where the tiller would be. Full throttle advance is possible only with the motor in gear.
Locate the manual choke lever and use that initially. There is an automatic choke system (can try it with the lever in the auto setting) -- requires a working thermostat to operate properly.
Water in the barrel should be about half way up the leg. A larger plastic trash can works well -- good idea to keep the hose running. When running in the test "barrel", operate only in the idle or fast idle range and check motor temp. You should be able to keep the heel of your hand on the top of the head for a few seconds when warmed up. If too hot to touch, it's too hot to run -- need to diagnose problem.
