On a 10 yo engine, I would clean the cooling fins first thing. Hard starting is either valves out of whack or clogged/dirty carb. Could be several other things. De-carbonize the cylinder as your engine manual states. Lap the cyl head flat with a piece of plate glass and 220-800 grit wet/dry...
Take the starter apart. Clean the shaft the Bendix rides on. Polish her up good. Reinstall and test. This is the fastest fix for THIS issue. Could be something else causing this as others have said.
You should be running full throttle all the time. As in all the time. No reason to idle down a mower engine. Full revs for max cooling and lubrication. Also cuts and vacuums better.
Just a few off the top of my head.
1.Valve adjustment.
2.Low compression.
3.Weak spark.
4.Clogged/plugged air filter.
5.Dirty carb.
6.Bad deck bearings.
7.Bad deck pulleys.
8.Grass built up under the deck.
9.Deck is too low in the grass.
10.Tires are under inflated. Normal for this time of the...
To me, a crimp is no good unless you can slice it apart and see a solid blob of copper. Always like to add a dab of solder to the exposed copper on the connector for a 1-2 punch.
I prefer soldering and marine grade heat shrinking with the adhesive goo inside it. Depends on what tools I have...
Didn't read all this. Make you own tool to fit. This ain't the space program. Might visit a local school welding shop. Muffler shops can weld small projects. Have one at a muffler shop right now.