When you are doing farm work, you don't want to spend a lot of time changing gears. To do an effective job with a loader, planter, or plow you need to be able to move forward and in reverse at the same speeds. If you're working on steep hillsides and need to move forward and in reverse, or if you have a long implement set behind the tractor and need matching speeds for both front and back, then John Deere's Syncro range transmission (SRT) is for you. To prevent hard starting, make sure the aneroid cable/linkage is working. I replace the check valves in the lift pumps once a year, because they're cheap. Some of the 4430's didn't have the third check valve on the fuel filter housing, so that can be added. Also, sometimes this check valve gets a piece of trash stuck in it when it's cold. It's a good idea to pump the hand primer a few times if you are experiencing hard starting. The 404 is a harder-starting engine than the newer 466 and many other engines, but with good fuel system/batteries and cables, they aren't that bad.