Black oil leaking from prop area. Follow-up Question.

First off, thank you to all who responded.

My question is: Would it be safe to start the motor with the muffs on and see if any oil comes out after it warms up? I forgot to mention in my earlier post that when I lowered the motor, it was a very fast drip, almost a stream. I forgot to mention that the black oil smelled like gasoline.
* little more info*---> I started and choked the motor, it fired up. We were being blown into shore because of the high 30+ winds, so I believe I could have flooded it because I did choke it many times. The motor would start and then run choppy and stall. So... should I try to start the motor with muffs on, or just bring it to my local rude/john tech? Thank you all in advance! KJ