What the OP is referring to is the engine's idle speed (turtle mode as you call it). These engines usually idle at a governed idle speed of 1750 rpms with a dead flat idle speed of 1200 rpms (throttle against the idle stop screw). When the dead flat idle is set incorrectly due to either messing the idle speed stop screw it can cause this and usually they will settle back down to the 1750 but it can take a while. Many operators and techs mistakenly adjust the idle speed stop to the 1750 rpm which is wrong for the governed idle setup.
This adjustment does take a RPM meter to set it, you can't just guess at it. I know I had several engines here that would do similar things and took me following the SM instructions to stop them from this. For some reason these can get in a self feedback loop and don't want to return to governed idle speed right away. This very to the problems we can have with the old updraft carburetors and they too had to be tuned a particular way for them to operate right. I know reading and following the SM instructions are a pain for us know it all types. It took me a year to learn to set this adjustment as I just over looking it in the service manual.
Now if once you perform this adjustment and the engine still does this then I would for worn carburetor parts like the throttle shaft, linkages, or some other item. But you got to start with the basics first and troubleshoot from there.