I'm checking with my buddy, serial #2741917 with MerControl, if that helps.
Via the magic of the Internet he sent this photo.
Thank you for all your help, much appreciated!
My buddy picked up a 1971 Mercury Thunderbolt 500 outboard in pretty fair shape. The engine runs smoothly, however the throttle does not increase the engine speed until the lever is at about 12 o'clock, at "full" throttle it runs probably at 1/3 of expected speed. Adjusting the gross throttle...