You asked:
Was he correct in saying he can tell its blown up just by lightly pulling the cord twice?
Most likely NO.
You say it was working Ok immediately BEFORE you killed the engine and then no go next few moments. This is not a sign of losing compression or a rod while at rest.
I've seen three things that cause such on small 2 cycle engines such as yours.
A quickie look is to remove the spark plug and insert a long thin screwdriver and then slowly pull on the rope. If the piston don't move the screwdriver inspect the recoil assembly. If the piston is moving it's lost compression or rod no need in looking at the recoil dogs.
I've seen several that were deemed no good and the wimpy recoil were not even engauging under the assembly.
The recoil clutch dogs (clutch dogs) are broken. (most likely cause since it was previously ok when you killed the engine) What usually breaks the wimpy ones is jerking the rope hard. Not bringing the piston up slowly with the rope, then let the rope slightly retract then pulling (not jerking) the rope when you feel resistance. Replacements are usually weaker than the OEM replacements, China clones stuff.
The clutch dog assembly that is threaded to the crankshaft is spiinning on the crankshaft. (threads stripped where it bolted to the crankshaft)
engine rod disconnected. (not likely) this is what the guy was thinking that checked your rig.
You should investigate such yourself. Just remove the recoil assembly from your rig and look. Usually easy to remove and inspect. A quicker look is to remove the spark plug and insert a long thin screwdriver and then slowly pull on the rope. If the piston don't move the screwdriver inspect the recoil assembly. If the piston is moving no need in looking at the recoil dogs.
You might get lucky and only need a $20 replacement part that you can install yourself. Since it headed for the trash heap you might as well check it yourself.
Let us know what Ya find if you inspect?
