nice bike wayne!
i've since ditched both hand levers on mine for a cleaner setup, i just didn't see a point to them. i can start the motor just fine under full compression, and although i used a rod that sticks up over the handlebars to open the compression valve to stop the engine, i really don't even need it because i can reach the lever itself with no trouble. i lost the clutch of course with no throttle, but that hasn't been an issue for me. my brakes will stop the bike but instead of killing the engine the roller will just skip over the tire. i think this has to do with my knobby tire, but also because i may not have the tension adjusted properly on the lowering bracket. it came out of the box full tightened and wouldn't budge until i loosened it. i may have it too loose. i've noticed i get better performance if i hold onto the lever knob and keep the roller just barely touching the tire. if i let it go, the roller has a tendency to dig into the tire and slows the bike down. i plan to rig up either a friction shifter or hand lever to raise and lower the engine, which a lot of friction drive bikes have. not only will it work as a clutch, but it will also let me fine tune the roller tension on the fly for optimal performance. seems more useful to me in this application than either a decompression lever or throttle.
I think that your clutch may be stuck. I would investigate it farther.
On both my engines, at full throttle while stopping, the roller never skips, nor does the engines kill at full stop/full throttle. The clutches slip at this time.
If you experienced your clutch working right, you would never want to give up all the controls.
I can stop and idle easily now, after some practice.
Tip, when brakeing, adjust the throttle enough to stop the 4 stroking, and it helps you find the sweet spot for idle at a stop. It takes a lot of throttle to catch the sweet spot of the clutch for idle. Right before you are stopped advance the throttle for a split second
I like my throttle control cuz sometimes it wants to go faster than I do. Like when I'm looking for that headlight lens that fell off LOL.
With my compression release, I can push the bike about 3, quick steps, it starts, and I jump on, no pedaling off at all.
Alao on steep long hills, it helps with engine brakeing