I have a 1989 OMC Cobra engine and it starts and runs fine until I put it in gear, in the water, under load. I can put it in gear while it's out of the water and it turns the prop and runs great, however as soon as it is put under a load, the engine bogs down and stalls. I thought it might be the carb but it runs great out of the water. The problem goes away once the engine has been running for a while. Could control cabling cause this type of a problem?
