I too have a low hour 2094 that I got from the original owner for the same reason, he couldn't start it. He told me he would remove the B&C, start the saw, let it warm up at idle, reinstall the B&C and restart it. Sounds pretty crazy to me and I don't know how that would make it any easier to start. However, I certainly can understand why it wasn't used much especially since it was a 36" bar he was taking on and off every time. I must admit it was a real PITA to get going at first, to the point I thought something was wrong with the starter mechanism. The cord would just plumb stop dead about a third of the way through the pull. I eventually got the hang of it's idiosyncrasies and now it's not bad at all. I bring it to TDC and with a quick hard jerk on the cord, it works fine. You will get a feel for it after a few times. I'm glad you brought up the muffler mod issue, I'd be interested in that myself.