From the behavior of how it finally took off and started, I believe that there may have still been some pockets of air in the injector lines that could not be flushed out with the slower-turning engine. Once it "hit" on a cylinder, the RPM increase helped boot-strap the other lines to clear until all three cylinders fired. The reason I believe this is because, after the first run, I no longer needed any auxiliary batteries or chargers to start the engine at all. The small original battery turns the engine just a portion of a revolution and she starts right up. I now have no blow-by or smoke out the tailpipe! I am ready for another season of mowing. Thanks again for all the information.