Royboy,
I'm also amazed by the events. When it smoked without startup, I figured it's a board or capacitor, which would have meant a board, I think. When I took the engine to an extremely qualified MTH tech, he said all boards checked out fine. Why it happened the way it did, in the first place, is the big question to me. That said, we still do not have a motor, and if we do get one, will the same thing happen again? I'll take one shot at it, but after that, if things are not working well, the engine becomes an ornament. I will keep you posted.
I will heed your warning. Best, Lou