Gary, The first things that come to my mind are: For the power loss and dying, a leak where the fuel line plugs into the gas tank or the motor. One day I had those exact symptoms and the problem was just that simple. I thought for sure I had them plugged in fully but they weren't seated and allowed air to be drawn in to the system. First I'd double-check that and then if that doesn't do it, borrow someone else's hose. For the throttle thing, on my Honda 5, there is a safety mechanism where if the shifter is not in forward, some linkage prevents the throttle from turning fully. Perhaps there is a mis-adjustment that is making the thing not realize it is in forward. When you shift from reverse to neutral to forward, a bow-shaped (bow and arrow) piece pushes up on rod that comes down from the throttle mechanism. On the bottom of the rod is a locknut and a long custom nut. If those have vibrated off or something, the bow-shaped piece won't be able to push the rod up. I'd first look at that and see what it looks like and if it appears to work correctly. Great to hear about your sail; I haven't been out yet, unfortunately. Tod M17 #408 BuscaBrisas