An extra beer last night IFL?
Point was, even though the tell tale may be stuttering or running hot, it's the discharge out of the exhaust through the prop that is important.
And you don't want me working on my own motor - with my mechanical skills I can only see disasters ahead, besides, if I fixed it myself, I might end up selling it off to you someday. You may not want me to have touched the motor, mechanically speaking.
Cheers