95 Force 40 hp turning over very slow

I have a 1995 40 hp Force. When I try to start it it turns over once and then a second or two later it'll turn over the second time. It's almost like the battery is dead but it's brand new and fully charged. Once it starts it will idle for a few seconds and then die. I don't have a throttle control that I can find to rev it up and get it warmed up. Does anyone know why it would be so sluggish turning over? Also maybe someone has an idea about what to do about not having an idle control?

The idle control is in the handle.
Pull the handle out and then push it forward.
Might be a button on the side of the handle, push in and pull the handle out.

Slow turning: bad battery(load test), bad connections at battery and motor(check),the battery cables bad(inspect for swelling/soft spots) the starter might need cleaning(remove and replace or clean),low compression on one or more cyl.(remove the plugs and see if the motor turns over better?) , the driveshaft bearing in the lower unit corroded and seizing the shaft(drop the lower unit and see if the motor turns over better).
Turning over the motor when the plugs are out, make sure the plugs are grounded if using the key. You can short the pack by not having the plugs grounded.