1989 Johnson 150 GT choke primer questions;

1. Is the Red Lever in the correct position for normal starting of and running the engine?

2.What is the purpose and or is this Red Lever used for ?

First time starting in the morning I've had some hard starting issues with this engine,,, but the Red Lever was not in this position, it was turned almost all the way towards the other end of the choke/primer, Would that have cause it to have a hard starting issue????

Thanks!