James & Bing, My mule was also very hard to start and keep running smoothly, especially when it was cold. A guy at the dealership told me when starting the mule, be sure you hold the choke out with your left hand and hold it out until the mule starts. Once it starts let go of the choke, do not push the choke back in, just let it go back in and adjust on it's own. This really helped me get it started quickly, once it is warm there is no need to choke. The other thing he suggested was that I adjust the idle screw slightly so it would idle a little bit faster, I found instructions for this in the owners manual. Hope this helps!
