The small tiller that I have was bought about 15 years ago by my Father. I found it in his storage unit after he died. It was still in its original box. It is very, very hard to start. But once it is running it wont quit until you hit the kill switch.
Get a can of starter fluid, and choke it good when you go to start it. Save you alot of frustration.
Most small engines will have a bit of a vapor lock in the carb if they’ve sat for even a couple hours.
Once it’s been going for three minutes or so, if you shut it off it should re-start immediately with one pull.
If it runs after that, but intermittently stops, check the fuel filter. If it has been a while since you used it and it had older gas in it, DUMP OUT ALL OLD GAS AND USE FRESH GAS ONLY!
I’ve literally seen a half inch of water in a quart of gas I dumped out of the tiller after setting over winter. Most gas these days have ethanol in it, and it will absorb water right out of the atmosphere.