with the shift shoe facing fwd the prop is locked CCW and ratchets CW for forward gear, turning the shift shaft fully counterclockwise the prop now will lock clockwise and ratchet counterclockwise
if the engine temp is normal and timing is correct then your probably running lean, get the special too ,not that expensive and open the mixture screw a bit
the old one was a NO and closed when moved causing a ground to be placed on the neg side of the coil.I believe the newer type is a NC and should be wired in series with the pos side of the coil to interrupt the voltage