1993 75hp ELPTO hard start, stalls when put in gear

[cjdubya]

I am new to the forum and am having some problems with my Mercury outboard. I'm hoping that the knowledge I find on here can help me with finding my problem.
I have a 1993 Mercury 75 hp ELPTO 3 cylinder that is incredibly hard to start. I have to give it throttle and crank on it for 10 plus minutes to get it going. After getting it started and it dies a few times, it will warm up and run just fine, maybe a bit rough, out on the water for awhile. Every time I bring her in to dock or trailer, she will stall when I put her in gear (forward or reverse). After stalling, it will start right back up, with throttle, and die again when put in gear.
I have replaced the fuel lines, rebuilt the fuel pump and replaced the filter.
It will run all day long in the driveway with the ears on, but I have issues under load 100% of the time. What am I dealing with and how do I go about diagnosing and fixing? Thanks in advance for lending this new boat owner your knowledge.

 

[racerone]

Information is required !!-------How long have you owned it ?-----------Did this problem show up suddenly ?---What are the results of a compression test.----Are you pushing the key in and HOLDING it in when cranking it over ?--------Prolonged cranking will overheat the starter.----These starters are easily damaged.------Then slow cranking will mean a hard to start problem.-----Answers , answers will get you help !

 

[cjdubya]

Thanks racerone....I have owned the boat for only 6 months and have had it out on the water 4 times. I don't know the detailed history of the engine prior to that. The problem with the engine stalling after running for awhile has been there from the start. I have had to pull it up on the trailer by hand every time. Then I get it home and it runs just fine when I put the ears on to flush.
I very well could not be pushing in and holding every time while trying to start it. I will pay extra attention to that when I start it next.
I have not done a compression test...my guess is that this test is very important and should be done first....I will get on that. Will the compression test let me know if the starter is damaged?
Just trying to get moving in the right direction to fixing my problem. There are a ton of trout in the bay just waiting to find a home on my dinner table.

 

[1nebel0]

Sounds like idle timing needs to be turned up which will speed up the idle so it won't die when put in gear...you need to know what screw to turn that will advance the trigger which will increase the idle speed.....Racerone has asked all of the questions that are very important as well...